The Canterbury Society has confirmed that its historic streetlights campaign is now moving into a structured delivery phase, following meetings with Kent County Council (KCC) and Canterbury City Council (CCC).

Both councils have agreed in principle that Canterbury needs a heritage lighting strategy. The Society welcomes that commitment, because it creates a route to consistent decisions for the historic core, based on clear standards rather than piecemeal change.

More than 3,300 people have signed the petition to protect Canterbury’s Biggleston cast-iron columns. National media coverage has brought wider attention to the issue, and correspondence released by both councils shows this has been building for years. It reflects a gap in streetscape policy, not a single recent decision.

Repair, replacement and a practical route forward

KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways met with the Society promptly following recent coverage. KCC officers are now exploring options including specialist assessment of existing cast-iron columns, refurbishment and reinstatement where viable, and a review of moulds and designs developed through Canterbury’s Levelling Up Fund programme.

The Society has also engaged with experienced cast-iron specialists who confirm that inspection, repair and base-level intervention are normal practice in historic settings. Cast iron can corrode, but corrosion does not automatically mean failure or removal. Many heritage columns remain in service for decades where owners take a repair-first approach and maintain them properly.

The Society’s focus remains on proportionality, transparency and long-term asset management within a World Heritage setting.

A policy gap that now needs fixing

With Local Government Reorganisation approaching, Canterbury cannot rely on informal understandings or vague guidance. The current planning guidance on lighting is thin and high-level. It does not set out clear operational standards for heritage columns, materials, or like-for-like replacement. That leaves too much discretion in practice, and it drives inconsistency.

As the Society noted in its previous press statement, this issue did not start with recent removals. The Levelling Up Fund work has simply exposed the underlying weakness: highways delivery, conservation principles and public realm ambition have not been properly joined up.

This should not become a narrow technical argument. It is a chance to fix a structural problem.

The Society supports the development of a strengthened public realm framework, through an updated Supplementary Planning Document or a formal design code covering street furniture and lighting across the district. It should set clear expectations on inspection, repair-first principles, like-for-like replacement, and materials, so decisions follow policy, not default procurement.

Get Involved

The campaign is now entering mobilisation. The Society is forming small task-and-finish groups covering technical evidence, policy and design standards, funding and grants, and communications.

Residents, professionals and organisations can register to help or donate to support independent technical input and campaign delivery:

👉 Register interest in joining a working group
👉 Make a donation toward the campaign (please include ‘Streetlights’ in the order notes)

Further updates will follow as work on the proposed heritage lighting strategy progresses.