21ID. Bitham Lane, Stretton, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire Further along the road from the previous Survivor, where Bridge Street becomes Bitham Lane, are two Stanton & Staveley 15 ft (5 m) concrete columns supporting GEC Z9530 35 Watt SOX lanterns. Neither column has been sleeved, meaning that the Z9530s are likely to be original to when the columns were installed.
The first of the two installations, near the Fountains High School, is a 10F-type column fitted with an older Z9530.
A chunk of concrete is missing from the front of this column; this is likely to expedite the replacement process for the installation.
The lantern comprises an aluminium canopy and Perspex bowl, which has become translucent over time, and has lost its refractor panels, which were applied to the bowl using adhesive, rather than being part of the same moulding. Apart from the use of a Zodion SS55-style two-part photocell detector on the canopy, there is another tell-tale sign that this lantern does not contain any lamp control gear, as my own aluminium-canopied Z9532 does...
The characteristic dry patch around a concrete column base on a damp morning proves that the control gear is housed in the column base - the ballast creating sufficient heat to produce a 'storage heater' effect in the concrete. This is something of a rare sight in 2023, with most column bases now being devoid of gear, owing to the replacement of traditional discharge lighting lanterns with LED equivalents.
The second column is an 1805 type, and is to be found opposite Athlestan Way.
Here, a length of Denso tape exists around the column and bracket joint - probably, as an earlier repair.
A newer, GRP-canopied, polycarbonate-bowled, Z9530 is fitted here. This is likely to date from the late 1970s or early 1980s, and the column's installation may have been required because an older column, installed in (what would become) the junction mouth for Athlestan Way, had to be removed.
Athlestan Way itself retains many of its original 1980s' 1805 columns, with this end seeing GEC Z9582s (what became the Siemens SRL 35) fitted. BT chamber cover lids along this portion of the road all carry 1984 as their manufacturing date, giving a clue as to the approximate age of the lighting installations.
On a previous visit, this Z9582 was operating in daylight. As it was not doing this on my return visit, I suspect that the P42 two-part photocell (itself, possibly original) had shifted in sensitivity, requiring a higher ambient light level before it would deactivate the lantern.
A Philips 26 Watt SOX-E lamp is employed here.
Many of the 1805 columns on the estate have base sleeves; this column is an exception - possibly, because the litter bin and/or hedge being in the way, though of course, it could be an 1805 column that doesn't have structural issues, as many others do.
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