Work has now started on upgrading Torbay’s street lighting system.

The installation of a Telensa Central Management System (CMS) will transform the way street lighting is monitored, maintained, and controlled across the Bay. The upgrade is a major step toward reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon emissions, and improving the reliability of Torbay’s lighting infrastructure.

To date, 14 Telensa Basestations have been installed. The Basestations are small rectangular units with an antenna which is used communicate with Nodes throughout the surrounding area, collecting real-time data and relaying information back into the central system. As part of our ongoing maintenance programme, a number of Nodes have also been fitted.

Deputy Leader of Torbay Council Chris Lewis said: “We are delighted to be able to start work on our new streetlighting scheme. It will be fantastic for the Bay with the ability to vary the brightness of the lights in all areas enabling us to be more responsive, will be better for the environment, and also save both energy and costs in the long term.

“The new lighting will also help address anti-social behaviour and reduce the impact on our biodiversity across the Bay from artificial streetlighting.

“This is just one of a number of great schemes we have under our Climate Change Action Plan that the Bay will benefit from.

“It also forms part of our wider Pride in Place agenda in our Community and Corporate Plan which covers everything around our visitor economy, culture, climate, planning, natural environment and harbours, as well as our town centre regeneration programme which aims to make our towns become the places that they should be for our communities to enjoy.”

Full rollout begins from Monday 20 April 2026, when contractors will start the Node installation phase, which includes replacing older-style SON lanterns with modern, energy-efficient LED units.

The contractors will begin the roll-out in Torquay before moving into Brixham and finally Paignton.

The project is scheduled to be fully completed by the end of November 2026.

Once fully deployed, the Telensa CMS will give Torbay Council far greater control over its lighting assets. The system will enable:

• Remote monitoring and diagnostics, reducing inspection costs and improving fault identification, resulting in better response times.
• Manual control of lighting levels, supporting tailored responses for events, maintenance, or emergencies
• Intelligent dimming regimes, lowering energy consumption at times of low footfall whilst maintaining an acceptable level of street lighting
• Significant carbon savings, contributing to Torbay’s environmental and carbon reduction commitments
• Safer streets, through responsive lighting management that balances efficiency with public wellbeing

The new lighting is one of a number of key infrastructure projects to help reduce the Council’s carbon emissions as part of our Climate Change Action Plan.

Other projects in the Action Plan include:

• Decarbonisation of Paignton Library with new heat pumps being installed
• Funding for the Council’s fleet of electric vehicles
• Improving our procurement and commissioning of external companies and providers. Contracts will cover carbon and sustainability accounting from the beginning.

This also follows a significant amount of work already completed by the Council and partners including:

• The recent launch of a brand new fleet of electric buses for Torbay, the first new bus fleet for nearly two decades
• energy efficiency measures at Torbay Leisure Centre. These include solar panels and air-source heat pumps. This saves around 320 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
• Heat pumps at the Arid House at Torre Abbey. This saves around 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the project’s lifetime.
• Planting 2,000 new trees across the Bay through Forestry Commission grants. These have created long-term woodland areas, helping to support biodiversity and store carbon.

Find out more about our Climate Change Action Plan.