Does that include Cambridge city itself? And also does it include Fenland District areas (such as Wisbech, for example)? I pick Wisbech, as it has a lot of SOX lighting there, and is now one of only two places that we know of which uses phillips SOX XGS201's - and it'd be sad to see it all replaced with blandidiums. My cousin bought a brand new house in 2007/8 with her partner, and was one of the first on the development to be finished... they were still building other houses around about and putting up the street lighting columns, which had XGS201's fitted!


(and I think it's fairly obvious why I ask about Cambridge itself)

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I really hope Cambridge City isn't included! I hate PFIs, I was hoping this cost-cutting Government of ours would put a stop to them but it seems not so far!  

The government has stopped some. The Essex street lighting PFI has been cancelled.

Cambridge City is included in the PFI and everything (bar the old gas lamps which have been refurbished) will be replaced. The REVO Richardson Candles will be replaced by DW Windsor Sorentos.

All the best,
Simon

I think every collector has eyes on those Candles.....

I hope the contractor awarded the PFI realises their historic value and permits their release to their retirement in preservation. For those collectors up north (including Scotland), i'd even hire a vehicle to pick some up, if they go the same route as York's Festivals.

My eyes are on Cambridge, I'd hope to get one in collection that is of course once an announcement on here has been put out.

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From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.

A real shame, I think Cambridge is one of the best places to find antique lighting still in use in the UK! I'm surprised the Candles weren't listed as they are of historic interest. They could put new lighting in place but still keep the Candles (albeit unlit).

Well lets think about this: many people thought York's revo festivals wouldn't go. The fact that Claire, Simon, myself, and others have one in the corner of a room tells us all that nothing is safe.

The more worrying thing about Cambridge is that this is part of a PFI. In York, the work was done by a contractor working for the council, and the contractor were happy to help thanks to a good contact established by another collector. Worst case scenario for Cambridge is that the Candles come down and we're all told "no you can't have them, they have to be crushed and turned into dog food cans so that we can tick a form on a box" (the form probably having to be sent off to the government so they know their worldwide 'global warming' scam has coned more money out of yet another company).

I can very much bet that Simon will be trying his best to save the lanterns (and hopefully the brackets for the wall-mounted versions, as I wouldn't mind a couple of sets!)... but for now I think it is best we wait and see what happens.

As a final question: are the Candles and Festivals controlled by cell, group switching, or timeclocks?

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You won't often hear me say it, but three cheers for the government!

I completely second that. Over the moon that the SOX won't be drastically killed en masse (well, for now at least...!)

The news from here is even better than that!

Speaking to my contact last week (Claire, you have a PM!), it turns out that the recent decision to start replacing expired SOX lanterns with new SON ones instead of like-for-like was not a County Council-influenced decision as I first thought. It was the preference of the person in charge at the time.

The new person in charge prefers replacing expired SOX lanterns with new SOX lanterns where the lion's share of surrounding lanterns are still SOX, so it looks like new SOX lanterns will continue to be installed in my corner of the country for some time to come!