Safety fear over lights switch-off

Any plans to reduce street lighting in Ollerton and Boughton will be opposed by the town council.

It fears Nottinghamshire County Council’s proposals to turn some street lights off completely and reduce the use of others could compromise safety.

Mr Ray Shilling said: “We should resist any effort to reduce lighting in Ollerton and Boughton. If this is implemented it will have an effect on safety at a later stage.”

The county council wants to save 25% of the energy it uses on street lighting, which costs more than £5m a year.

Lights could be switched off altogether or at certain times of night, or dimmed, in a move the council says could save £1.25m a year.

It says pilot schemes in other parts of the country showed it did not result in an increase in crime or traffic accidents.

All street lights will be considered with assessments taking place in individual communities throughout the year.

Town councillors said cost saving should not be put ahead of safety.

Mr Tony Spratley said: “There are dozens of good reasons we have street lighting. To get rid of it is would be a retrograde step in towns like Ollerton and I would strongly oppose it.”

Mr Stan Crawford said: “We are told it will not affect road safety, so in that case why have they been in use all this time?

“They say they can fine tune it if it results in accidents, but that is too late for the person involved in an accident.

“It is terrible that they are saying fear of crime is not an acceptable reason to oppose it. For elderly or vulnerable people on their own that fear is real.”

Mr Shilling said: “We need a map from the county council as soon as possible showing exactly where they are considering turning lights off so we can be constructive in our comments.”