Campaign fighting to save hundreds of London's gas lamps

A group is aiming to preserve historic gas lamps across London's West End, which they say are "crucial to the history" of the capital.

The London Gasketeers are campaigning to save hundreds of the lamps across the capital.

Westminster City Council wants to convert 275 lamps to electric power and has already changed 30 to LED power.

The council said gas lamps were becoming "increasingly difficult to maintain" and put safety at risk.

The local authority also claimed it was working on a "solution which replicates the look and style" of gas lamps, which are more environmentally friendly.

A month-long engagement review period is set to begin on 20 October.

Plans to transform the gas lamps to LED replacements were paused in January so the council could speak with residents and local groups.

There are 305 gas lamps across Westminster, 30 of which have already been replaced by LEDs out of 15,000 street lights in the borough, according to the council.

Antiques dealer and co-founder of the London Gasketeers campaign, Luke Honey, said the gas lamps were a crucial part of the area's heritage.

"This is an important part of London's history," he said.

"The trouble with LED is that they do not replicate gas lamps. The reproductions are not authentic.

"It is part of London's fabric and we are in danger of losing it.

"They need to be treasured and appreciated, people love them and tourists come to see them."

Actor Griff Rhys Jones told The Times: "It's a rather magical thing, an old lantern in a street still fuelled by gas.

"It takes us back to a world of Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady or Sherlock Holmes, or London as a place of warmth and dignity and history.

"There are not that many left, but they still give a fabulous glow to the dark corners of some of our most beloved London experiences in Covent Garden, St James's or Westminster itself."

The plans were initially paused by a Conservative-led council and the now Labour-led administration will begin a review period in October.

Mr Honey believes the upcoming consultation will not be about preserving gas lamps, but rather what the new LED lamps will look like.

"The consultation is about the way they will look," he added. "We do not want reproduction, we want gas lamps".

He also dismissed the council's concerns, arguing he had visited a British Gas warehouse with plenty of resource to fix gas lamps and that manufacturing LED lamps would leave a greater carbon footprint.

The council says it is working to replace the lamps with "gas effect" LEDs.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality, said: "The council plans to consult on the replacement of gas lamps with high quality replica LED lamps and has worked closely with a specialist lighting manufacturer to develop a solution which replicates the look and style of our heritage lanterns without significantly changing the appearance.

"We understand that many people are as passionate as we are about the heritage of our city so I'd like to offer reassurance that we will only consider installing replacement lamps that meet the highest possible standards of historical authenticity."

The council added that delays to the repairing of gas lights was a safety issue.

"Streetlights are there to ensure people on our streets feel safe at night. Personal safety becomes a concern when there are long delays in our ability to repair gas lights, leaving them out of light and areas in darkness."

"No decision has been taken and we encourage people to share their views through our upcoming engagement review."

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