Thurrock Borough Council

Thurrock Borough Council, usually known as simply Thurrock Council, is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone.

Following on from Covid, Thurrock Council wanted to get more of their 175,000 residents making use of the local parks and footpaths bordering the Thames and for longer periods of the day. To do this, they needed to make them safe environments in the hours of darkness. With the government push towards Carbon Neutrality the only option really was to move to Solar Powered Streetlights, with tight budget restrictions they went out to market to find the perfect business partner who could supply the lights they needed within the timeframe specified and on budget.

With the UK weather being as it is, Thurrock needed a light that was going to work from dawn to dusk and not fail due to winter weather conditions. They needed a light with the capability to store enough power to last through a dark December evening, and sturdy enough to withstand the winds whipping off the Thames in bad weather conditions for years to come.

After much research, demonstrations, and quotations, they chose the Helios from Vivid Solar Street Lighting. This was a light tested in the worst conditions of UK weather and proven to work, day in and day out, moreover the design of the light ensured no tampering with the battery as it is stored in the top of the light column approximately 4 metres off the ground. So no mischievous tinkering would stop it working, or lead to costly repairs. Designed in the UK, the Helios had everything needed to withstand what the elements could throw at it and work as designed for years to come, it’s even typhoon proof.

Once the order was placed the Vivid team set to work, the lights were delivered and installed on time.

The installation process is easy, and the set up of the light takes no time at all, no heavy groundwork is needed or any cabling required, the installation was non disruptive to the parks and footpath users. Budget was also a key for Thurrock and the Helios roll out came on budget, “we are delighted with the result and there are more orders to come” said a spokesman for Thurrock.