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When the London Borough of Bexley approached Peter Hoban at IRSS UK, they had a problem that thousands of UK councils share but few have solved: decommissioned and damaged street lighting columns being left covered with nothing more than single-use plastic bags and hazard tape. The Bexley case study is the origin story of the CoverMe Street Lighting Cover and Wrap, and it shows exactly why a purpose-built solution was needed.
The Challenge: Three Problems with No Single Solution
The Bexley team had been using the same approach to decommissioned street lighting columns that most UK councils use: wrapping the exposed access panel in hazard tape or covering it with a bin bag. It was the only option available. But it created three distinct and unresolved problems.
The first was environmental. Hazard tape and single-use bin bags used on every column deployment go straight to landfill. With the UK government committed to eliminating all avoidable plastic waste by 2042, and with councils under increasing pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility, a single-use solution was becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
The second was safety. Hazard tape and bin bags do not physically seal the column access opening. Decommissioned columns can contain rough metal edges, residual cabling, and electrical equipment. With access panels left unsecured at street level, the risk of members of the public, particularly children, reaching inside a damaged column was real and ongoing. The council had a statutory duty under the Highways Act to ensure its street furniture was kept in safe condition, and an unsecured access panel did not meet that standard.
The third was communication. Generic bin bags carry no hazard information. Pedestrians walking past a column wrapped in a bin bag have no way to understand that the column is dangerous, decommissioned, or under repair. The council needed a cover that clearly warned the public, a visual signal that would be immediately understood.
The Solution: A Direct Brief to Peter Hoban
Having seen the CoverMe traffic light cover in use, the Bexley team contacted Peter Hoban directly to ask whether he could develop a solution for street lighting columns. Peter drove to London to meet the council team and understand the brief in detail. The three problems, landfill waste, inadequate sealing, and lack of public warning, became the three design requirements for the new product.
Peter Hoban, inventor and founder of IRSS UK, has spent 25 years in the highways industry. His approach to product development is rooted in direct industry experience: identifying a specific problem, speaking to the people who face it every day, and designing a ground-level solution that eliminates the risk rather than managing it. The CoverMe Street Lighting Cover followed exactly that process.
Two Products: Cover and Wrap
The result was two companion products, each addressing a different version of the same challenge.
The CoverMe Street Lighting Cover fully encloses the access panel opening on a decommissioned or damaged column. It seals the opening completely, preventing any access to the interior of the column, and carries clear custom hazard wording and branding so that the public understands immediately that the column is out of service. It is installed from ground level in seconds by a single operative, no ladders, no working at height risk, no specialist training.
The CoverMe Street Lighting Wrap was developed to address a related but distinct situation: columns where the access door is present but has become unsecured. The Wrap uses a magnetic fixing to seal the access panel door in seconds, again from ground level without tools or ladders. Together the two products cover the full range of damaged and decommissioned column scenarios a council is likely to encounter.
Both products are manufactured from recyclable materials and fully reusable across multiple deployments, directly addressing the landfill problem that first prompted the Bexley brief.
Common Questions About the Bexley CoverMe Case Study
Why did London Borough of Bexley approach IRSS UK specifically?
The Bexley team had seen CoverMe traffic light covers in use and contacted Peter Hoban directly because no equivalent product existed for street lighting columns. The CoverMe range was already established as a ground level bagging off solution in the traffic management industry, and Bexley recognised that the same no-ladders principle could be applied to their street lighting challenge.
What statutory obligations do UK councils have for decommissioned street lighting columns?
Councils have a statutory duty under the Highways Act to ensure that street furniture on the public highway is maintained in a safe condition. An exposed or unsecured column access panel represents a public safety risk, particularly where live cabling or rough metal edges are present. Councils also have obligations under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 to avoid ladder use where a ground level alternative is reasonably practicable.
Are CoverMe street lighting products now used by other councils beyond Bexley?
Yes. Following the development of the CoverMe Street Lighting Cover and Wrap for London Borough of Bexley, the products have been adopted by councils and contractors across England including Doncaster Council, Kier, Balfour Beatty, Enerveo, Cheshire East Council, and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.
Can CoverMe street lighting covers be customised for different councils?
Yes. All CoverMe Street Lighting Covers and Wraps are available with bespoke branding, including the council's logo and specific hazard or warning wording. This was a key requirement from the original Bexley brief, the cover needed to clearly communicate danger to the public, not just obscure the column opening.
The Wider Impact: From One Council to a National Solution
The Bexley case study is significant not just as a product origin story, but as an example of how direct collaboration between a council and an inventor can produce a solution that benefits the entire industry. Before Peter Hoban developed the CoverMe Street Lighting Cover, the standard approach across the UK was bin bags and hazard tape, not because councils were satisfied with it, but because nothing better existed.
CoverMe now gives UK councils and highways contractors a professional, reusable, fully compliant alternative that meets their safety obligations under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, reduces single-use plastic waste in line with the UK government's 2042 plastic elimination commitment, and clearly communicates hazard information to the public, all from ground level, in seconds, with a single operative.
Find Out More
To find out more about the CoverMe Street Lighting Cover and Wrap, or to request a free sample or site demonstration for your council or contractor fleet, visit the CoverMe Street Lighting Covers page or contact IRSS UK directly.
