STREET LIGHTS TO BE DIMMED AT NIGHT

STREET lights will be dimmed in residential areas as part of costcutting measures planned by Coventry City Council - but they won’t be turned off completely due to safety fears.

The city council announced plans last November to turn off street lights in some areas between midnight and 5.30am to help save £250,000 a year.

The move was proposed as part of the authority’s budget for 2020/21, but the authority has now altered plans following concerns over safety.

Cllr John Mutton, cabinet member for finance said councillors were also concerned about a city wide “black out” at night.

He said: “The roads where they were going to be switched off entirely in residential areas will now be dimmed instead.

“There could well be roads like the A444 and by the Ricoh where they are off entirely at night as it is not a residential area and you very rarely get people walking down there, so as long as car’s lights work they are okay.

“There was a bit of concern about switching them off totally in residential areas.

“It was safety more than anything else.

“People breaking into cars and houses I don’t think it will have any effect on that.

“But people walking on the streets if they have been out at night or at a pub or whatever, if it’s pitch black it does make it a bit more dangerous. We did have a small number of responses in the consultation about this but members [councillors] themselves were concerned about the city effectively adopting a black out situation.

“We do know that some people are very nervous about walking the streets at night so we responded to that.”

The council had previously said the changes would not apply Friday and Saturday nights.

Plans are part of the council’s budget setting process for 2020/21.

The authority has proposed a series of savings and money-making measures to plug a £16.7 million funding gap.

The move is expected to be approved by cabinet on February 25.