Switching night lights back on to cost £120k a year

Switching street lights back on all night could cost a town £480,000 over four years, a council has said.

Basildon Council is expected to give the green light to spend the money at a meeting on Thursday.

In February 2014, Essex County Council switched street lighting off across the county between the hours of midnight and 05:00. The times were later revised to 01:00 to 05:00.

Labour councillor Aidan McGurran said he would be "delighted" if it happened but the final decision lay with the county council.

Basildon Council turned the lights back on in 2019 for a four-year period - but that ended in 2023. It was hoped they would return by the autumn.

Mr McGurran said: "I feel very pleased this is happening, I'm delighted, we would have liked to have done it earlier, when we got back into administration a year ago, but our finances didn't allow it.

"Residents bring it up all the time, it's the biggest issue after bins, as people just don't feel safe."

Council papers stated the year cost for the lights would be about £120,000, with a risk that sum could rise due to increasing energy costs, but as LED lights were upgraded in 2020/21, they could cost less to run, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"Reinstating night-time lighting could help to improve the look and feel of the borough and reduce the perception of crime," the council said.

It hoped the outcome would mean that "residents feel safe and secure in their homes, towns and open spaces".

"Reinstating night time lighting will contribute towards this objective," it added.

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