Staffordshire towns and villages to switch street lights off
Twenty-five towns and villages across Staffordshire are considering switching off some street lights after midnight in a bid to save cash, it was revealed today.
Parish and town councils across the county have been asked for their views on the move, with 25 expressing an interest.
Councils which sign up to the scheme will see lights switched off between midnight and dawn, with an annual saving of around £7 per light.
It means councils can choose to switch off lights in certain roads and areas and help encourage a return to "a more natural night-time environment".
Bosses today said in some areas, full street lights are not needed. Highways chief Mike Maryon said: "We are a huge rural county and in many areas, parish and town councils don't feel the full glare of street light is warranted.
"This is very much up to each individual community and councils can decide how many lights in how many roads they want turned off after midnight, for example this could be every other one or two, it really is up to them."
Councillor Maryon today insisted the financial saving is only small and the decision was one based on saving energy. "The scheme is completely optional and wouldn't necessarily work for every town or village and communities can look at which lights can be switched off on a case-by-case basis.
"We are certainly not talking about a blanket "switch off" but the feedback from some areas is that they are really keen to return to the natural night-time setting and we are happy to do what we can to support this."
The county council spends up to £9 million a year on street lighting across Staffordshire and looks after around 107,000 lamps.
But it has not yet revealed the names of the 25 areas to have expressed an interest.
Letters were sent to all parish and town councils to find out their views on the voluntary scheme last year.
Penkridge Parish Council debated the idea at a meeting in November.
While most members were against a total blackout, they were keen to see lights reduced to 50 per cent.
In Walsall, work is poised to start next month on replacing hundreds of standard street lights with LED ones in more than 100 streets.
It follows a successful pilot scheme on more than 100 Bloxwich streets.
