PEOPLE in St Leonards will have the chance to learn more about changes to street lighting at two public events.

The switchover to modern, energy efficient LED lanterns will be the subject of public exhibitions in the Maze Hill and West St Leonards wards.

The Maze Hill event will be held at the Taplin Centre, in Upper Maze Hill, on Saturday, May 10 with the West St Leonards exhibition at West St Leonards Community Centre, in Bexhill Road, on Saturday, May 17, from 9am to noon on both days.

Maps showing the changes in Maze Hill and West St Leonards will be on display while members of East Sussex County Council’s street lighting team will answer questions from the public and listen to people’s observations.

The authority is replacing around 5,500 old orange and yellow street lights in the town with energy-saving white LED lights.

The change is part of the council’s drive to reduce its energy budget for the whole of East Sussex by £885,000 over the next three years and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 2,800 tonnes.

The council has already saved around £340,000 a year and reduced its CO2 consumption by 2,000 tonnes from switching to LED lights in Eastbourne and introducing part night lighting in other parts of the county.

More details on the changeover in Hastings, which is expected to continue until Spring 2015, are available online at www.eastsussex.gov.uk/streetlights, by visiting Hastings Library, in Claremont, or by calling 01273 337162.