Village de-lighted that it won’t be left in the dark
There is a light at the end of the tunnel for villagers who feared being plunged into darkness, after plans were for agreed for new streetlamps.
Hollingbourne Parish Council has had to raise its precept in order to bring the footpath lights up to Kent County Council (KCC) standards – or risk them simply going out.
The current ones are old and too far apart and it was estimated it would cost up to £50,000 to replace them – twice the authority’s annual budget.
But now, thanks to a competitive quote and some help from KCC, the parish council is having 22 new Victorian-style lanterns installed for £22,000.
County councillor Jenny Whittle is contributing £8,000 towards the overall cost from her member’s fund.
The old lights were paid for by the rural district council, which ceased to exist in 1974, when they became the responsibility of Maidstone Borough Council. But after its grant was axed several years ago, the parish council has been struggling to afford them.
Hollingbourne parish councillor John Cobbett said: “Most of the lights are in the conservation area so we wanted light that fitted with the general ambience. We have a bit of a mish- mash and some don’t work properly so we thought we ought to spend the money to have them upgraded. We’ve had our annual income cut drastically. In order to get some things that people in Maidstone get as standard we have to pay extra in parishes which is not totally fair, but we think it is important to have proper street lighting. It is safer and we have a lot of narrow pavements.”
The new LED lights, which resemble the gas lamps which lit Hollingbourne before electricity was introduced, are designed to be more energy efficient than existing ones. The lampposts will all be painted black to match the lights. They are expected to be installed by the end of the year.