Letchworth Garden City, the first of its kind, is undergoing an £8 million revitalisation programme, including town centre lighting by Sutton Vane Associates designed to restore it as a destination and create a night-time economy, while preserving its unusual heritage. The Street Scene scheme funded by Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation includes the creation of a new gateway area and ‘town square’ with lit beacons and water features.

Working closely with the foundation and other design team partners, Sutton Vane Associates has created a discrete, integrated lighting scheme that draws visitors into the hub of Letchworth and aids way-finding. It includes specially designed lighting columns that have bronze-painted bases and are faced with wood matching the street furniture. These contain controls for CCTV and traffic signals and they support lanterns that can be dimmed remotely. Light levels are reduced to a safe minimum during the small hours in order to save energy.

Three beacons set within a water feature form the heart of the scheme. Their design is based on the Garden City’s 1909 ‘Four Square Our City’ processional banner. Metal halide and spreader lenses have been used to illuminate building facades. Fibre optic lighting is used in the area’s three ‘gardens’ and trees are uplit to give the centre an intimate atmosphere.