A plan to switch off more than 45,000 Surrey streetlights at night has been delayed – but residents are still in the dark over which lights will be affected. The proposed highways budget for Surrey County Council includes measures which could see the lights, starting with those in residential areas, switched off between midnight and 5am each night. Councillor Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Dorking2, raised the issue at a meeting in July and was told that the scheme would commence from October 1.
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However a council spokesman has confirmed that the issue is now due before a Surrey County Council cabinet meeting on October 18 meaning the scheme has been delayed. Mr Cooksey said: “It’s bad enough that the Surrey Tories want to turn off the lights all night but we don’t even know which lights yet.
“This is a sad day for residents when the county council is unable or unwilling to maintain street lighting for taxpayers.
“Street lights provide an important element of safety and security for residents and plunging large areas into darkness for a large part of the night will not be acceptable to very many people.
“My experience is that most people are keen to see additional lighting in poorly lit areas. This has been even more the case in the light of continued reductions in police resources.
“Residents were first promised that they would find out in September which roads are to be deprived of all-night lighting and the switch off for most areas was scheduled for October 1.
“But the council cannot give a date as to when the lights will be switched off or when residents will be informed.
“I will strongly oppose this move and hope that residents will make their views known to the Council about what is yet another significant reduction in service.”
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Surrey County Council have been contacted for a response but have so far not been able to explain why the policy has been delayed or give a new time frame for its implementation. But the council has confirmed that that the policy is still being explored. A spokesman for the county council, said: “Due to the ever-increasing demand for our services coupled with a reduction in government funding, we are exploring the possibility of switching off some of the streetlights in quiet areas with low amounts of traffic in the early hours of the morning.
“All roads being considered will be risk-assessed and discussed with partners before any decisions are made and these will be communicated to any residents affected in advance.”
In their response to Mr Cooksey’s original question on the issue in July the council revealed that lights will only be turned off in areas that meet none of their “avoidance criteria”.
The criteria includes high volume traffic routes, areas with speed humps, town centres, pedestrian crossings and area that Police have indicated have high levels of crime.
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References
- ^ Comments (0) (www.surreymirror.co.uk)
- ^ Dorking (www.dorkingandleatherheadadvertiser.co.uk)
- ^ Mole Valley is considered the fourth best place in England and Wales for girls (www.surreymirror.co.uk)
- ^ Baby mole recovering in Leatherhead after fighting free from jaws of a magpie (www.surreymirror.co.uk)
- ^ Dorking man who “planned to shoot Donald Trump” says incident is “a blur” (www.surreymirror.co.uk)