What other councils have done to cut street light costs

Jan 27 2011 Buckinghamshire Examiner

BUCKS County Council is not the only council considering plans to switch off its street lights.

Similar schemes have already started or are planned across the UK. Leicestershire County Council has a programme to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2014. As part of plans to save £66million over the next four years, it is switching off three per cent of street lights across the county.

Mike Preston from the county council said: "We do recognise there may be public concerns about switching off street lights late at night. Other councils, like Gloucestershire

and Essex, have adopted this approach and found that it has not led to increased crime."

Essex County Council is reported to have saved £1.25m by turning off 18,000 street lights in the early hours.

Meanwhile, in Somerset the council said turning off 500 lights between 12.30am and 5am would save £18,500 a year.

Some councils have bucked the trend though.

Hampshire County Council has opted against turning off its lights.

Councillor Mel Kendal said: "There are no plans to switch off any street lights in Hampshire. Good-quality lighting is proven to have a positive impact on road accident reduction, crime prevention and the fear of crime."

Flintshire County Council in north Wales have opted for other energy-saving options, such as installing night-time dimming control gear, while in Norfolk the council has decided to scale back its big switch-off plans following a concerted public campaign.

Commons Transport Select Committee chairwoman Louise Ellman MP has said she feared safety was being 'compromised' by councils plans to save money by switching off their street lights.