Let there be light! Leighton Buzzard car park lights fixed

Shoppers left in the dark by faulty lampposts at the shared Tesco / The Range car park on Vimy Road are finally seeing a brighter outlook after their local MP stepped in.

Six broken lights have now been fixed with the final two that are out of action set to be repaired soon.

The town’s Labour MP Alex Mayer took up the issue after being contacted by concerned residents following years of problems at the car park.

But first she had to do some detective work to establish who had responsibility to fix the faulty lights. This meant contacting the Land Registry and cross-referencing a map of the problem area with their plans. 

Next after discussions with Tesco, their Property & Maintenance Team visited with the electrician finding that six of the lampposts in question are fed by The Range’s electricity supply and two Tesco lamps were suffering from faulty cabling. Ms Mayer then kept up the pressure on both companies to fix them.

The MP met the engineers working on The Range lights, which have received a full LED upgrade, making them more reliable, easier to maintain and energy-efficient. 

Tesco has also confirmed its two lights have now been assessed and a specialist contractor assigned to repair the cables. Ms Mayer says she will keep chasing until all eight are back in action.

The MP said: “This has been a real pain for shoppers and staff. I’m glad we’ve finally got the first lampposts fixed before the darker nights pull in and the rest will follow soon.”