Maintenance of Devon’s street lights and illuminated traffic signs is carried out by the Street Lighting Team at the County Council. We are responsible for the majority of street lighting throughout Devon, excluding Plymouth and Torbay.
Report a faulty street light
If you are reporting an emergency that is likely to present an imminent threat to life, or cause serious injury or damage to property and requires immediate attention, please call us on 0345 155 1004.
Alternatively, you can call our Customer Service Centre on 0345 155 1004. When reporting a problem it is helpful if you can provide:
- details of the problem
- the number painted on the street lighting column (see below and image, right)
- the road or street name and the postcode
Please note that our streetlights have a white square painted on our columns with a stencilled black number.
Electric Vehicle Charging on Street Lighting:
Should you have an enquiry or complaint referring to the Electric Vehicle chargers located on street lighting columns, please contact Char.gy, available 24/7 on 0800 086 9606, or visit their Help Centre (char.gy — Public electric vehicle charging – on-street, car parks, lampposts) where you’ll find FAQs to help with your first charge, EV basics, payment queries and more.
Repairs
A street light could be dangerous if it is damaged, especially if any wiring can be seen. Please call us immediately so that we can make it safe as quickly as possible.
We aim to attend to emergencies within two or 24 hours depending on the severity of the fault. Non-urgent faults are added to our work programme.
Sometimes a fault is due to a failure in the electricity supply. In these cases, the repair is not directly under our control and we have to instruct National Grid to carry out the necessary work.
Policy
More information about what we are doing and have done to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy costs, including part-night lighting can be found in the policy below.
How we are helping with the climate emergency
In consultation with local councils, we have set most street lighting in residential areas to switch off overnight. We are also reducing the number of illuminated signs and bollards.
All our lighting is being replaced with LED technology. This new lighting also dims in the later hours of the evening to save more energy and reduce light levels for wildlife and to protect dark skies.
Over the last decade these measures have reduced the energy consumption of street lighting by 54% and the associated carbon emissions by 80%.
Street Lighting Trial – Approval
The 12 month Street Lighting Trial was taken to Cabinet in February 2026 and received approval for the new dimming regimes to be permanently implemented. Please refer to item 171 of this link : Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday, 17th February, 2026, 10.00 am – Democracy in Devon, which will take you to the Policy amendment report and risk assessment.