STREET LIGHTS SWITCH-OFF TIMES TO BE REVIEWED

CONTROVERSIAL street light switch-off times across Nuneaton and Bedworth and the wider county will be reviewed.

It has been confirmed that once the LED light programme has been completed by the end of April next year, Warwickshire County Council will then take a look at the times that the lights are switched on and off.

It is not the first time that a review has taken place, as one was held in 2014, and the county council insists that it has always planned to do another when the LED light switch-over scheme had been completed.

Councillor Jeff Clarke, cabinet member for transport and planning at Shire Hall, said: “When we first started the LED programme , we said we would review the scheme once it all had been rolled out.

“We have been fortunate that we have put extra monies into the programme which means that it has been able to get into operation quicker.

“Once the programme has been rolled out we will review the scheme.

“We will, obviously, be working with our partners to get all of the information and statistics together so that any considerations are made from an informed position.”

Campaigners will be anxiously waiting to see the results of the review, which is planned to take place at some point next year, as they have longed to get the lights back on at night permanently.

Some sections of the community were left upset when the local authority decided to plunge many parts of the borough into darkness, by switching off street-lights between midnight and 5.30am on Sunday to Thursday, and on Friday and Saturdays, when the lights go off at 1am.

It has been well documented that several bids have been made to get Warwickshire County Council to make a U-turn on the controversial decision it made back in 2013.

Each time the attempts have failed and so have online petitions calling for the lights to be turned back on at night.