Council approves plans to turn off and dim street lights in Notts
STREET lights in Notts will be turned off and dimmed to save cash and energy.
Notts County Council yesterday approved plans to change its current policy of lighting streets from dusk until dawn.
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The council says the move will save £1.25 million and 5,800 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
But despite assurances from the council that it will monitor safety, opposition councillors fear road accidents and that crime will rise as a result of the lights going off.
Labour councillor Stella Smedley told the council's cabinet meeting she was "extremely concerned" by the proposals.
"By turning off the lights the accident rate will start to rise," she said.
"It's a bit late when somebody is killed on the roads to say 'oops'."
She said she believed burglaries, anti-social behaviour and assault rates could rise if streets weren't lit properly.
"If you are not careful some of these areas could become no-go areas."
She called for the county's current lamps to be replaced with more energy efficient ones instead.
Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Jason Zadrozny, said he also feared crime would rise.
He said: "The people of Notts don't want criminals, muggers and burglars to be able to walk down their streets unseen at night.
"We have gone to great efforts to encourage Neighbourhood Watch. What use is Neighbourhood Watch if you can't see out of the window at night?"
Conservative councillors said all changes to lights would be risk assessed and changes would be reviewed every six months.
The council has agreed to look at dimming lights between 10pm and 7am on some main traffic routes, switching off lights between midnight and 5.30am in rural and residential areas, and turning lights off completely where they are not deemed necessary.
Councillor Richard Jackson, cabinet member for transport and highways, said: "If I thought for one moment it would lead to an increase in accidents I would not be proposing it.
"We are in the position where we have to do something not just to save money but to save CO2. "
Council leader Kay Cutts said she was "delighted" by the move.
The work, which will cost £3.22 million, will begin this year and the council is consulting with emergency services and parish councils to identify suitable areas.
4 Comments
by paul plaskett, Eastwood
Tuesday, November 30 2010, 3:14PM
“Apart from the increase in crime which everyone is talking about, does this mean that where the council are going to turn off the lights altogether that every person that paid for these lights in the first place are going to get there money back, Just to highlight a situation I have just had, I was asked by the police to describe the people I was having problems with, it has taken the council 6 months to change a light bulb, so I could not.”
by Stephen, Ruddington
Friday, September 10 2010, 7:09AM
“Reducing carbon emissions? Please!
This has nothing to do with saving emissions and all about saving money. The reduction in emissions is just a by product of the money saved. If they could save even more money another way, but emissions would increase, then you can guarantee they would do that instead.”
by soon to be living in the dark, gloomy town
Thursday, September 09 2010, 10:01PM
“So Kay Cutts is delighted, well she would be wouldnt she! She is going to be saving a few more pence. Thats all she cares about, she targets the elderly, the young and the vulnerable (typical tory).
Its ok Cllr Cutts, we will put up with the increase in ASB, burglaries and road accidents, just so long as you can squeeze a few more quid out of us.
Go Cllr Cutts, make the most of the time left till the next county elections because believe me, you wont be in office for another term.”
by Burning Ember, Arnold
Thursday, September 09 2010, 1:53PM
“The existing street light photo cells that switch the lights on and off are simple dusk till dawn units.
Part-night lighting can be achieved by replacing the existing photocell with a
part-night photocell. For the first 48hrs this type of photocell operates as a
conventional photocell switching the street light on at dusk and off at dawn
while it calculates midnight. Thereafter the photocell switches the street light
off at midnight and on again at 5am, if it is still dark at that time.
Mmmm. Now let me get this right what time does it get dark in winter and what time does it get light. How smart are the proposed £3.22m of photcells? Do they make sense of British Summer Time? How do they recalculate this notional 1 hour +- ? l would suggest not quite as smart as our politicians believe.
The quote by Councillor Richard Jackson, cabinet member for transport and highways, got me when he said: "If I thought for one moment it would lead to an increase in accidents I would not be proposing it."
Councillor clearly you have not thought at all and you clearly have not thought about crime.
Councillor Jackson and others read carefully Chapter 1 Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
Can anyone seriously imagine the amount of crime that can be committed in the monitoring reference period of 6months? Still, l don't suppose crime affects our conservative masters and even if it does will their local lights be turned off?
l suppose the sooner they publish the proposed switch off areas we will illuminate the areas were crime will increase and barricade ourselves in accordingly.”