Labour plan for Warwickshire street lights is defeated

Labour councillors put forward a motion to reverse the part-night lighting “in the interests of the personal safety of all Warwickshire residents”.

But as the bid did not receive support from Conservative or Liberal Democrat councillors at a full meeting of Warwickshire County Council last Tuesday, the lights will stay off as planned until the early autumn.

Cllr John Holland (Labour, Warwick), said: “When its a matter of public safety our view would be to leave the lights on for the time being.

“Obviously there are places where they would be switched off because they are a nuisance to residents or wildlife, but they should be on until the issue is assessed.”

In the early autumn, a full review of the policy will be carried out using evidence from the emergency service and crime figures before a long term decision is made.

Cllr John Whitehouse (Kenilworth Abbey), lead scrutiny member for the party group, said it would not be suitable to make changes before this full review was carried out.

“Labour’s motion is a purely political gesture,” he said. “They have presented no evidence to support it, nor have they said what cuts they would make elsewhere in the council’s budget to recoup the £500,000 annual savings that switching off the lights gives.”

“If the personal safety of residents has been adversely affected, then clearly that would be an issue, but currently there is no evidence to confirm this.”

Members pressed that an evidence-based he review be carried out at the earliest possible opportunity.

Last year, the decision was made to switch off nearly all street lights in the county between midnight and 6am to save £500,000 each year. The move met opposition from those who feared over safety and an increase in crime.