Council bosses are set to bring the management of 35,000 street lights back in-house after 25 years.

Street lighting in Stoke-on-Trent has been operated under a private finance initiative (PFI) contract since 2003, costing taxpayers £400,000 a month in unitary charges on top of £180,000 a month for electricity.

With the PFI contract due to expire in August 2028, with no possibility of extension, Stoke-on-Trent City Council will need to implement a new system for keeping the lights on across the Potteries.

The preferred model is an in-house design and management function supported by a single external maintenance contractor.

Council officials say this will strike a balance between strategic control and accountability, access to specialist expertise and value for money.

While the future operating costs are still being modelled, it is assumed that the maintenance contract will cost around £1.6 million a year, with an annual capital programme of £2 million.

Steve Lovatt, head of highways, told the housing, regeneration and operations scrutiny committee that the new model would bring various benefits to the council.

He said: "It will hopefully give us some income generation where we can work with developers to provide a design and fit service to new housing estates.

"We're currently looking at different options on how we can deliver those, along with how we can work with Freedom Fibre to get fibre broadband to more properties through the street lighting – every residential street has street lighting, and every residential property wants superfast broadband.

"In-house design will enable us to progress that model.

"Energy costs are increasing constantly, so we have to think about how to make these assets as energy-efficient as possible, possibly moving to solar and other emerging technologies.

"Again, in-house design will allow us to manage that better, rather than relying on third-party contractors."

Mr Lovatt also suggested that in future the street lighting network could be used to support public wi-fi or electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Committee member Adrian Knapper said the street lighting PFI had been a success, and stressed the importance of this continuing under the in-house service.

He said: "I think we've got to realise that it was a good decision by the council to go with the PFI for street lighting. It's probably one of the few PFI schemes that actually worked.

"Prior to that we had concrete posts with bits sticking out of them, ready to fall down on people. We've had a good relationship with the contractors. The important thing now is to ensure the lights continue to be switched on going forward.

"There's nothing worse than going out and being afraid because you can't see the street."

Mr Lovatt agreed that the council would be taking back a 'very good asset stock', with Stoke-on-Trent set to be one of the first areas with 100 per cent LED lighting.

The final business case for the new street lighting operating model will be considered by cabinet members at a future meeting.