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No review of street light policy until summer 2013

Darkened roads in Hertfordshire will not see light for at least 18 months after Hertfordshire County Council revealed it would not review its street lamp switch-off until summer 2013.

Darkened roads in Hertfordshire will not see light for at least 18 months Darkened roads in Hertfordshire will not see light for at least 18 months

The authority announced this week it would not look at reversing its money-saving policy until at least one year after the scheme has been introduced to all corners of the county.

Opposition councillors have branded the decision “ridiculous” and accused the authority of not listening to hundreds of people who have registered their complaints with local representatives. The Conservative county council has gradually introduced the scheme to different areas of Hertfordshire since mid-2011 with the switch-off coming into force in Watford in November.

Supporters argue the move will save the authority £1million a year and reduce its carbon footprint.

But Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who sits on the authority’s highways and transport panel, is unhappy with the decision.

He said: “I’m clearly very disappointed. We expressed concerns about the inflexibility of the scheme when it was first introduced and this has been echoed by the vast majority of residents that have complained.

“Whilst there is some merit in turning off some lights to reduce the carbon footprint, we need to take on board local conditions and comments.”

Councillor Giles Medhurst also accused highways bosses of being politically motivated in delaying the review until after the next county council elections.

Fellow panel member Labour councillor Nigel Bell said: “I’m not happy. I can’t see why they are waiting so long - it seems ridiculous.

“I have had lots of people getting in touch with me who are concerned about crime but mostly the safety of their streets. The council needs to take into account the number of complaints and bring this review forward.”

Executive member for highways and transport Councillor Stuart Pile, believes the 18-month wait is necessary.

He said: “We won’t have finished rolling out the scheme to all areas until June or July at the earliest and we feel it needs to have been running for at least a year before we can review it.

“If we reviewed it after six months like some suggest, places like Dacorum won’t have experienced the switch off in winter months when it has the biggest impact.”

“We need to be efficient here and gather all the evidence we can from all areas, not just Watford or other places where it was introduced first.”


Comments (11)

03/02/12

elmo75 says...

well done hertfordshire county council, I work in a bakery with early starts and have to walk to work in the dark and as a woman don't feel safe....also what about women who work late in bars ect, just the walk from a car to the front door can be un-nerving but as long as you save money!!!

03/02/12

crazyfrog says...

Iam a shift worker and now drive home at night because the street lights are off ! i do feel safer than walking in the pitch black, how many other people drive now because the lights are out? so much for that carbon footprint tosh, i also now have to get a light fitted outside my house for my arrival home. Will the county council give me a reduction in my Tax to cover my fuel costs? no didnt think so, whats the point in having lamposts that dont work? even the victorians had streetlighting for god sake.

03/02/12

crazy cyclist says...

Yes I think in principle it is a good idea, we all need to cut back on the amount of energy we use and the councils should be no different. Why waste electricity lighting up the streets for a minority of people, the majority of people are safely in bed at this time.

03/02/12

S/OMan says...

just thought i'd point out that one of those catalitic converter thefts in south oxhey were done at a house where there is a street light right outside that house, it would not have happened if the light was on.

03/02/12

crazy cyclist says...

I dont think that the turning off of lights would contribute to more theft, unless the thieves have night vision goggles it would make them more obvious as they will have to carry torches.

03/02/12

crazyfrog says...

crazy cyclist wrote:
Yes I think in principle it is a good idea, we all need to cut back on the amount of energy we use and the councils should be no different. Why waste electricity lighting up the streets for a minority of people, the majority of people are safely in bed at this time.
Thats the problem with this country the "iam alright jack attitude".
The point S/Oman is making is with the lights out its alot easier for thieves to go about their business unseen, the thieves can walk the streets without torch light for a majority of the time as peoples eyes become accustomed to the low light level, but when somebody in a house looks out their window their eyes are not accustomed to the low light so they are less likely to see anyone.
if they want to save money lets start looking at county hall salaries.

04/02/12

Andrew1963 says...

If public services are only provided for the majority what sort of community will we live in? One without provision for the disabled, no subsidy for minority interests such as Opera. No rural bus services. Most watford residents dont go swimming on a Sunday, but we still contribute taxes to allow those who want to do so

06/02/12

crazy cyclist says...

Yes, as long as we can keep Opera going this society is worth living in, haa haa. As for the swimming even when you contribute taxes to swimming pools you find that they are usually a bit dirty, limited access and cost to get in. Getting back to the streetlights the percentage of people who would be endangered will be small and thanks to financial mis-management by the bankers and politicians we dont have loads of spare cash for lighting and opera. So it makes sense to switch off unused lights.

06/02/12

Arthur Strong says...

I'm all for the big switch off. Evidence shows a fall in crime where lights have already been turned off.

28/02/12

Suzy-Sue says...

If anyone is interested we have set up a Campaign Group based in Borehamwood (although our aim is to cover the whole of Herts) seeking to have our lights turned back on or to agree an eco-friendly cost-beneficial compromise. There are many alternative options that could be considered. Unfortunately Hertfordshire County Council didn't see fit to even bother discussing this initiative with us and completely disrespected the entire community of 1 million residents living in Herts! We have already been on BBC local news and BBC Three Counties Radio and LBC Radio. As a group we want the lights back on/ or a compromise agreed for reasons of health and safety, practicalities of those out and and about, well being of the community and individuals, and crime prevention (albeit whether the fear of crime is percieved or actual). We do understand that some people want to see the stars, however our stance is aimed more at protecting the health and safety of residents in our communities and looking after those who are out and about e.g. shift workers such as nurses, carers, milkmen, young people coming back from nights out, those using late night public transport etc etc.

This is the online Hertfordshire County Council petition to 'Turn our street lights back on':
https://consult.hert
sdirect.org/petition
s/petition?petition_
id=26045

Our Facebook Campaign Group is entitled 'Turn Our Street Lights Back On':
https://www.facebook
.com/#!/groups/18960
5187792781/


Thanks
Suzanne (Alford)

28/02/12

Suzy-Sue says...

If anyone is interested we have set up a Campaign Group based in Borehamwood (although our aim is to cover the whole of Herts) seeking to have our lights turned back on or to agree an eco-friendly cost-beneficial compromise. There are many alternative options that could be considered. Unfortunately Hertfordshire County Council didn't see fit to even bother discussing this initiative with us and completely disrespected the entire community of 1 million residents living in Herts! We have already been on BBC local news and BBC Three Counties Radio and LBC Radio. As a group we want the lights back on/ or a compromise agreed for reasons of health and safety, practicalities of those out and and about, well being of the community and individuals, and crime prevention (albeit whether the fear of crime is percieved or actual). We do understand that some people want to see the stars, however our stance is aimed more at protecting the health and safety of residents in our communities and looking after those who are out and about e.g. shift workers such as nurses, carers, milkmen, young people coming back from nights out, those using late night public transport etc etc.

This is the online Hertfordshire County Council petition to 'Turn our street lights back on':
https://consult.hert
sdirect.org/petition
s/petition?petition_
id=26045

Our Facebook Campaign Group is entitled 'Turn Our Street Lights Back On':
https://www.facebook
.com/#!/groups/18960
5187792781/


Thanks
Suzanne (Alford)