LAMPPOSTS around the borough are to be hired out as advertising space in a scheme that could net tens of thousands of pounds for Bolton Council.

Town Hall chiefs are considering proposals that will allow a media sales company to rent out space on about 100 lampposts to be used for advertising, bringing in an initial £50,000.

As well as being paid £135 per unit for installation and maintenance and £30 for electricity, the council will also rake in £500 profit per sign each year.

Medialights, the company behind the scheme, says it is confident of securing advertisers for 100 lampposts initially.

Cllr Akhtar Zaman, Executive member for environmental services, will consider the proposal at a meeting on Monday.

The borough currently has 2,000 lamppost sites with about 365 of these being identified as on prime, usable routes.

Medialights will sell each of the sites for £1,295 per year. Firms who already use them in other boroughs across the country include furniture giant Ikea and fast food chain McDonald’s.

According to council officers, the signs are “under 1sqm and sited 3.5m above the ground, with an advertising display area of 85cm by 103cm and have life expectancy of 10 years”.

A council spokesman said: “The council is always looking for new opportunities to promote and work with local businesses and partners around the borough.

“This type of advertising on lampposts has been successfully implemented across several other areas across the North West and would allow local businesses to promote themselves to residents and attract new customers in a cost-effective way. There are also no safety concerns as signage is never located in residential areas or next to major road junctions, traffic lights or roundabouts.

“The units are also carbon neutral and require minimal servicing which means traffic interference is kept to a minimum.”

But some councillors have yet to be sold on the idea.

Cllr David Wilkinson said: “I have some concerns because I don’t think it has been through the policy development group route.

“It is as though we are being forced down this as a income generator without really knowing the full details.

“We have said in the past that certain signs in certain locations are not acceptable and this now seems to be that we are selling off certain lampposts just to bring money in without having a proper process in place.”

Hugh German, of the Bolton Institute of Advanced Motorists, said he felt it was a “stupid idea”.

He added: “There are enough distractions for motorists without them doing this. There are already adverts placed on railings and a lot of those have writing that is too small to read quickly.”