Work starts on city wall lighting improvements
Our Levelling Up project along the city wall is progressing well and we have now completed all the planting of the new beds.
Now we are at a crucial point for this scheme where we need to tackle the lighting columns – all 24 of them!
This involves removing them all for a thorough assessment of the condition each of them is in. This work will begin tomorrow (Wednesday 14 January), starting with the switching off of the power.
It’s a complicated piece of work that will take up to three months to complete. Many of the columns are old and the space for electrics inside them is not up to modern safety standards.
So each individual light will be examined to see if it can be refurbished or if it needs replacing. In each case, it will either be repaired or a new one will be cast using our heritage Biggleston mould.
While this is happening, our electricians will be testing the cable runs along the city wall to see if any parts need repairing or replacing. This cannot be done if the lights are in situ.
All of this means that lighting along the city wall will be reduced over the next three months or so.
The temporary loss of the columns will be offset by lighting from the bus station lights and from the temporary lighting we currently have in the Dane John, which we will in part redirect to the city wall above.
Once this work is complete, new or refurbished lighting columns will be reinstated at all 24 sites, and two new lights will be installed at the bus station end of the city wall to improve the consistency of the lighting levels, bringing the total number of columns to 26.
Overall, this will result in more reliable and higher quality lighting in this important area of the city.
The city wall will remain open as a pedestrian route throughout this element of the project.
This scheme also includes resurfacing the whole of the city wall and the replacement of damaged panels on the Riding Gate Bridge. Some closures of the city wall will be required for the resurfacing work in due course and these will be publicised when dates are confirmed.
Published: 13 January 2026