ON-GOING proposals to switch off street lights in Ashbourne and the surrounding areas were due to be discussed yesterday.
County councillors met shortly after the News Telegraph went to press to decide on a move they say will save tax payers more than £400,000 per year and help lower Derbyshire County Council’s carbon footprint, saving even more money through dodged Government penalties.
The authority wants to turn off around 40,000 street lights in the county between midnight and 5.30am and to permanently switch off around 900 more of Derbyshire’s 89,000 lights in rural areas.
A consultation was launched last year and, of the 842 people that responded, 69 per cent were in favour of the initiative — which would be rolled out on an area by area basis over a three or four year period.
Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport said: “We need to take action to cut carbon and help reduce the effects of global warming.
“We’re committed to cutting our carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2014/15 and street lighting is one of the main offenders.
“We also need to save £90m over the next four years and with rising energy prices we need to look at ways of doing things differently.
“We won’t switch off all street lights but as most people are in bed between midnight and 5.30am you could argue that some lighting isn’t needed.” Councillors promise that lights would not be turned off on “main traffic routes”, in town centres, at accident or crime hotspots, in sheltered housing areas or at pedestrian crossings or in areas monitored by CCTV but residential areas could be included if a strong case is not put forward for the lights staying on.
Last year the county council spent around £5.5 million on lighting and maintaining street lights with £2.7 million being spent on electricity. This year the figure is expected to rise to £2.9m.
The authority has calculated that switching off lights, as planned, could save 2,000 tonnes of carbon every year and would help avoid further Government carbon emission charges of up to £220,000 per year.
