Lancashire County Council are pretty slow when it comes to having old columns removed. Copse Road in Fleetwood waited about five years to have some old concretes removed recently. The strange thing is that random columns from the old scheme were replaced at different times during that five year period for no apparent reason! Also, both old and new lanterns were lit up together for about three years! As the old lanterns were MA50s and the new ones Vectras, it made for an interesting combination of SOX and SON but what a waste of electricity! Why is it when new lanterns are connected up that the old ones can remain on?  

It is a mystery to me, but may be something to do with how the power is connected... perhaps it is easier to tap into a supply cable than it is to cap off the cable when it isn't required anymore.

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You might be right, I can't see any other way it could happen.

This area of Handsworth was re-lit a fair few years ago now with ZX1s on hockey sticks and standard tubular steel columns yet this cast iron column and Philips SOX lantern seem to have been left on its own. I've not seen any other columns left over from the works, very strange!

I wonder if it still works?

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Steve R spotted this one in Cardiff Bay:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Cardiff ... 8,,0,-3.47
Dunno how old the ZX1 is but got to be a few years old by now. No idea if the GEC still works but doesn't look like its going anywhere fast!

A few years ago the council decided to "red X" a few older columns which clearly meant they were up for imminent replacement however 5 years on they are still there (for now) and the red paint has now faded.

These are the ones which survived,

One
Two
Three (and the one to the left)
Four (not sure why this one was singled out!?!)

However one was replaced by THIS.

This abandoned column near Lewes East Sussex. There is actually a 2nd identical column inside the turning, hidden by the trees on the right.

Another lantern-less offering, this time a CU concrete surviving in Plymouth. The old power station is long since demolished, while the column still survives high on the bank behind...
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Faraday ... ,,2,-17.66

Great find, Davy! What lantern do you reckon the column would have supported?