The lamps are going out all over Suffolk

The ( slightly misquoted) words of  Sir Edward Grey above are appropriate this weekend. As part of a rolling programme, from Monday night, Suffolk County Council is to turn of many street lights in our area between the hours of midnight and 5.30 a.m.  Most lights of under 6 metres in height will be affected.

The aim is to save money (at least £500,000 per annum), and also to ‘save carbon’.  I don’t know about the latter aim, but anything that conserves the world’s resources and also improves our chances of better seeing the beauty of the night sky must be a good thing!

 In Waldingfield Ward it is Chilton and Great Waldingfield that will be first on the list, with lights going off this Monday.  Little Waldingfield is scheduled to follow in April.  It seems that at present at least Acton is unaffected.

Whether or not, to complete Sir Edward's words, we shall 'see them lit again' depends on circumstances.

 

Further thought will be given to the appropriateness of turning off lights in the following cases:

• Lights at major junctions/roundabouts.
• In town centres with CCTV, high security businesses e.g. banks, areas of high night time pedestrian usage for example near nightclubs and train stations, outside community facilities or leisure centres.
• Areas where street lights are needed to reduce road accidents.
• Areas where there could be an increase in crime through reduced lighting, e.g. pubs and specific residential areas.
• Remote alleys linking residential streets.
• Near pedestrian crossings, footbridges, subways
  In public car parks.
• At bus stops.
• At level crossings, speed humps and traffic lights.
• Where there is sheltered housing for the elderly.

On a related matter, from my work with the Babergh Community Safety Partnership, I know that the police will be actively monitoring the situation to ensure that this measure does not result in additional crime.  I suspect that the policy will be reviewed if this proves to be the case.

Further details are available here