Plans are to go ahead with the installation of almost 12,000 energy saving road lights in Cumbria. These lights are planned to save Cumbria up to £430,000 a year if installation goes to plan.

The council are going to invest over seven million in an attempt to replace all the high wattage street lights with more efficient lights over a three year period.

Once installed in the summer, they will offer flexible levels of lighting.

Cabinet member for highways Keith Little said: "We want to cut our energy bills and there are ways of using modern technology to do that."

LED lighting also known as light emitting diodes produce more light than standard bulbs while using half the amount of energy with the bonus of less heat being lost.

The remaining 33,000 remaining lights will be explored with other options, for example it has been suggested that dimming the lights slightly to reduce costs along with the possibility of reducing the hours that they are switched on for in peak times.

Not all old street lights would be modified, but there was "scope to significantly reduce lighting levels while still maintaining safety", Mr Little said.

The residents of the area will be notified when the changes will be made as announced by the local council.

The new lights are expected to reduce energy bills by £140,000 in 2014/2015 and by 2016/2017 it should be reduced by £430,000.

For more information on these changes visit: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/