STREET lights could be turned off in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to save money. North Somerset Council has a backlog of £12million worth of repairs needed for streetlighting across the district. Council bosses say they are looking for way
STREET lights could be turned off in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to save money.North Somerset Council has a backlog of £12million worth of repairs needed for streetlighting across the district.Council bosses say they are looking for ways to cut the authority's electricity bill. Recent rises brought in by electricity providers means it now costs £500,000 a year to light up the district.Councillor John Crockford-Hawley, executive member for strategic planning, said North Somerset was looking at an experimental system to turn off town centre lights during the early hours of the morning.Essex County Council decided to turn off some street lights in town centre locations between midnight and 5am.Councillor Crockford-Hawley said: "We're looking into the Essex experiment and seeing how that goes and if we could implement it here."But there's a lot of risks to the system including safety to people and properties and how it will affect motorists."If there was an accident then the council could be liable, so we'll have to see how the system works first.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here