Street lights go out at midnight tonight in Warwickshire...

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Street lights are going out in Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth tonight as the county council begins its big switch off.



Warwickshire County Council is turning off nearly 40,000 lights equivalent to 80 per cent of its stock to save cash and cut carbon.

The controversial issue raised concern earlier this year when the switch-off, originally scheduled for April, was brought forward.

Instead of a countywide black-out from midnight to 5.30am starting when the days are getting longer, the council agreed a phased switch-off, starting in Warwick district tonight, saying the earlier start will save an extra £102,000 and 550 tonnes of carbon.

But, despite introducing the switch-off during the longest nights of the year and just a month before Christmas festivities, Coun Peter Butlin, portfolio holder for transport and highways, insists the council is taking precautions and will be monitoring progress.

He said: "We had to ask ourselves, Do we sit on it doing nothing until April or do we make use of it now?

"This is tax payers' money and we take the view that it would be better to make use of the investment we made.

"Nobody's arrogant enough to believe well get everything right first time.

"The phase-in gives us the time to do a small area, get it right and then move on to the next area."

He added: "There are certain areas where we want to keep the lights on and on New Years Eve, when a lot of people will be about after midnight, we'll be leaving the lights on all night."

The new technology is costing the council £1.6million to install.

But officers claim it should save £500,000 a year (a quarter of the council's street lighting bill), taking three years before the work is paid off and savings can start to be made.

The council has decided to keep 20 per cent of street lights on, including lights at large roundabouts, traffic light junctions, central carriageway islands, traffic calming areas and pedestrian crossings.

Lights will also stay on near care homes for the elderly, sheltered accommodation complexes, accident and emergency hospitals, taxi ranks, public footpaths, alleyways, cycle paths and near CCTV.

This weekend two council officers have been set the task of roaming the streets to check that the correct lights go out, while other designated lights stay on, and Warwickshire Police will be reporting back any anomalies to the council.

The switch-off will follow in Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth on February 1, and in Stratford and North Warwickshire on April 1.

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Woman attacked minutes after street lights go off

A PETITION has already been launched to restore light to Kenilworth’s streets after a girl was punched while walking home in the dark on the very first night of the blackout.

Mia Bastock was making her way home from work along Clarendon Road in the early hours of Saturday when she said she was approached by two men and assaulted.

The 25-year-old told the KWN: “There where two lads walking behind me and they were both laughing, I stepped back to let them go in front of me.

“As soon as I turned onto the bridge one punched me in the face and they ran off shouting ‘you won’t get us, you don’t know who we are’.

“I couldn’t see anything I’ve never been so scared in my life. It’s terrifying and something needs to happen before someone gets seriously hurt.”

She has not yet reported the incident to the police who said they have not had any official complaints of assault.

Nearly all street lights in the town now go off between midnight and 5.30am as part of a cost cutting scheme due to roll out county wide over the next few months to save Warwickshire County Council half a million pounds each year.

But the news has not been welcomed by all, and as well as a petition already launched online to restore lighting in the early hours, Ms Bastcok and her friends are collecting signatures in hope of getting the council to ‘see sense over safety’.

Town and district councillor, Richard Davies who made a plea for the lights along Abbey Fields to remain on for safety, said: “Danger to young people walking back from work in darkness is exactly what I warned the Town Council about and I truly have grave concerns about this.

“I have already received complaints about people falling over when the lights went off as they walked home.

“It might be sensible to start arranging to walk with friends or making sure you have a powerful torch, it shouldn’t be necessary, but under the circumstances at least it is sensible.”

County councillor Alan Cockburn, who is part of the team behind the switch off, said there was no evidence to suggest darkness has an effect on crime and that similar schemes across the UK have not had problems.

“The council has to make millions of pounds of savings and we are looking to save a lot with the street lights,” he said.

“There has been no evidence of crime rising in other areas of the country where this has been done but we will be monitoring all complaints carefully.”

He said after a four month trial of the scheme, there will be a consultation period after which it could be possible to turn lights back on if any problem areas are identified.

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No light U-turn on street lights for Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick despite 'attack'

THERE will be no U-turn on switching off street lights in Leamington, Kenilworth and Warwick – despite reports of an attack on a woman just hours after the first blackout.

Warwickshire County Council Conservative leader Alan Farnell insisted street lights in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth will continue to go off at midnight, in a bid to save £500,000-a-year.

Other parts of the county are expected to have their street lights turned off next year.

A Kenilworth woman reported last week she was assaulted by two men in Clarendon Road just hours after the first switch-off, although she made no complaint to the police.

The lights will be switched on after midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

But council leaders say the scheme was always planned with flexibility in mind.

Coun Farnell told the Telegraph: “We’re sticking with it. We always said we would keep the scheme under constant review, and would constantly review locations.

“Sod’s law says that something would happen when they were switched off, although we don’t know whether the attack in Kenilworth would have happened if the lights were on.”

Labour councillor Richard Chattaway claimed the decision to switch the lights back on for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve showed the Tory leadership was bowing to public opinion.

He said: “They will never admit it, but I think this is a response to public pressure being put on to elected members in those areas.

“This is backed up by residents contacting me and a Facebook campaign. Why not do it for the whole period up to Christmas, which is party time for many people hitting the town centres, if they can afford it?

Perhaps Tory councillors need the lights on so they can see the huge budget blackhole at the county council created by their government.”

But Peter Butlin, portfolio holder for highways and transport, said the plans for Christmas would be the exception, and took into account the higher number of people walking home after midnight.

The scheme has been controversial since it was proposed last year by leaders seeking £60million cuts over three years, after 27 per cent government funding cuts to councils.

This week, we revealed the council expects £92million more cuts by 2018 after chancellor George Osborne conceded austerity cuts to eliminate the national deficit by 2015 had failed.

Council leaders say switching off street lights will also cut carbon emissions, and has been successful elsewhere.

A pedestrian was also killed when hit by a car very shortly afterwards.

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Leamington taxi boss fears another death due to street lights switch-off



A TEENAGER lost his life on a road near Leamington because there were no street lights illuminated, it has been claimed.

The claim comes from the colleagues of the taxi driver who was involved in the collision that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Archie Wellbelove. The Warwick University student lost his life after being struck by a taxi on Kenilworth Road between the Northumberland Road junction and Old Milverton Lane island at around 3.50am on Friday December 7.

The driver is not facing any charges over the incident and Dil Ramzan, owner of My Taxis, says the fact that Warwickshire County Council switched off the street lights in the area that week is to blame.

Speaking to the Courier/Weekly News this week, he said: “I have been a taxi driver for nearly 16 years.

“It’s now more difficult than it has ever been to drive at night. You have to concentrate to the extreme, as if you were in very icy conditions or other extreme circumstances.

“The street lights going off has completely changed everybody’s driving styles. We are missing turns and not recognising landmarks that are so familiar to us.”

Describing the taxi driver involved in the fatal accident as a “very humble and noble man and sensible driver”, Mr Ramzan said the man had been driving three passengers at the time of the incident – and all of them said that they had not been able to see anything on the road prior to the collision and that the police, on arrival, had to request the council to switch on the street lights to enable them to deal with the incident.

He said: “Those passengers are now absolutely distraught. Everyone is on edge since the lights went off at night. People fear that they are going to get mugged or sexually assaulted.

“Women are asking for taxis for 200m journeys and we cannot cope with the demand.”

Mr Ramzan said neither his firm nor any other taxi companies that he knows of in the county had been consulted by the council before the decision was taken to switch the lights off at night.

He added: “Although the scheme is set to save £500,000 a year, have the council considered how many claims they will have against them for personal injury - or ultimately death like the unfortunate student? We don’t want this to happen again.”

The county council introduced part-night lighting – where the lights are switched off between midnight and 5.30am - in 80 per cent of Warwick district’s streets on December 1 and plans to roll the change out across the county over the coming months.

Cllr Peter Butlin, countycouncil portfolio holder for highways and transport, said: “It is important to note that we have been working closely with the police, community safety and road safety teams to ensure that the changes are not going to have a negative impact either for road users or in terms of criminal behaviour.”

An exception is to be made for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, when the lights will be on through the night.

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Warwickshire street lighting timings to change

Street lights in Warwickshire are to be turned off an hour later at weekends during the winter months following feedback from residents.

The local authority changed the time in Warwick District to 01:00 until 06:30 GMT during Christmas holidays.

This will continue at weekends for a trial period, but the lights will be off between 00:00 and 05:30 GMT from Sunday to Thursday.

The council will decide on a pattern that best suits the summer months.

'Necessary savings'

Some of the district's lights were first turned off early in December in a bid to cut costs and help reduce carbon emissions.

Councillor Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council's portfolio holder for highways and transport, said: "We have always said that this is a work in progress and we will try to be flexible and work with residents to refine to best suit patterns of movement and travel at night.

"This change in timings will enable us to still make the necessary savings while addressing what some people are saying about the lights going off at midnight."

In December, the council, which pays £2.2m each year towards street lighting, said about 80% of all its lights would be included in the part-time switch-off by April and that those operated by town or district councils will not be affected.

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MP's hit back over 'silent' jibes

NUNEATON and Bedworth’s voices in Parliament have hit back at `silent’ accusations over the controversial planned switch-off of street lights.

Marcus Jones and Dan Byles have reacted to comments made by Warwickshire County councillor Richard Chattaway.

The Bedworth representative scorned the MPs for their `silence’ over the plans to turn-off 80 per cent of the borough’s street lights during the night, starting on Friday, February 1.

“Can you imagine previous MP’s staying silent for a year about the Big Switch Off” he said,

“Will these well salaried spokesmen for local people ever say anything about this?

“Do they side with local people who want the lights? Or with Tory councillors who have gone to the dark side? People ask, what’s the point of silent MP’s?”

Hitting back, Dan Byles, who represents Bedworth and North Warwickshire, said: “I understand that some people are concerned at the proposal to switch-off some street lighting in some areas, and this is an issue that Marcus Jones and I have questioned Warwickshire County Council on in detail and continue to watch closely.”

He went on: “It is very disappointing, however, that Labour councillors such as Mr Chattaway continue to spread fear and misinformation about this issue. He spreads fear of crime, but he must know that crime is falling in Warwickshire - our local police had their best six month period on record in 2012. Other councils, including Labour councils, have made this move on lights with no increase in crime. But Mr Chattaway rarely lets the evidence get in the way of scare mongering.”

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones explained that the county council had listened to concerns raised in Warwick, where the switch-off has already happened.

Shire Hall bosses have changed the winter night-time switch-off from 12am until 5.30am, to 1am until 6.30am.

Mr Jones added that when the programme goes live across the borough, both he and his Parliamentary colleague will monitor the situation.

“I am pleased that Warwickshire County Council have shown they are listening to local people, for example as a result of the consultation and discussions with local MPs they have already made some changes to the timings that lights will be off,” he said.

“Dan and I will continue to represent the views of local people to the council once this project starts.”

He explained that the switch off will not only help reduce carbon emissions and pollution, but will also save the county council vital cash,

“The fact is the like the government the county council are having to make difficult decisions on spending as a result of the record peacetime deficit we inherited from the last Labour government,” he said.

“It is remarkable that like their colleagues at Westminster local Labour councillors refuse to acknowledge the problem that the country has, and refuse to offer any concrete proposals for gripping the deficit. “

The county council has been set a target to reduce C02 emissions by 3,000 tonnes, as well as light pollution.

Street lights are one of the main sources of carbon emissions across the county.

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Street lights being kept on all night during severe weather

WARWICKSHIRE’S street lights will remain on throughout the night while the severe weather continues.

The request was made by Warwickshire Police during the start of the heavy snowfall at the end of last week.

A Warwickshire County Council spokesman said: “We have always said that we would be flexible and could switch streetlights back on immediately if we were asked to do so.

“These circumstances are exceptional and we are happy to work with the Police and take their advice on when they feel the situation has returned to normal and the streetlights can be switched back off.”

In December Warwick district became the first area in the county to have its street lights turned off between midnight and 5.30am.

Public pressure led to these times being changed from 1am to 6.30am.

By January the county council had decided to revert back to the original times from Sundays to Thursdays and keep the 1am to 6.30am tiem for Fridays and Saturdays.

The lights are being switched off in a bid to cut costs and reduce the levels of light pollution created in Warwickshire.

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Glitch hits 15,000 street lights in Warwickshire

A "software problem" caused up to 15,000 street lights to go off leaving parts of Warwickshire in darkness.

"Considerable patches" of Nuneaton, Bedworth and Rugby were affected on Wednesday evening, Warwickshire County Council confirmed.

The problem happened a day ahead of the start of cost-saving measures that will see lights in the three areas switched off overnight.

The council said it was "looking for assurances" the new system would work.

Under the new system, which has already been introduced in Warwick, the lights will be turned off between 00:00 and 05:30 GMT on weekdays and 01:00 and 06:30 GMT at weekends.

Monica Fogarty, strategic director for communities, said the problem in Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth had been caused by a fault with the programming of the street lighting.

"It's not a great start," she said. "I can only apologise to residents. It's certainly not something that we would have wanted to happen."

She said the council wanted to make sure the software, which was provided by an outside contractor, would work for the planned overnight switch off.

"We, like the residents, want absolute certainty that it's going to go smoothly," she said.

Ms Fogarty added in the event of an "emergency switch-on" the system could be overridden but it was the long-term programming which had to be examined.

She said she would be speaking to engineers to make sure the council had confidence in the system.

The council hopes to save about a quarter of its £2.2m annual street lighting bill by switching off some 80% of lights overnight by April.

It said the lights had been specifically chosen after consultations with police and community safety groups.

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"73% of Kenilworth residents say no to £45,000 lighting bill"

Plans for residents to pay to keep Kenilworth’s streets lit through the night have been scrapped after overwhelming opposition for the idea.

Kenilworth Town Council looked into funding a return of the street lights after upset across the town over the dangers of the midnight blackout.

They put the question to the town, but scrapped the idea after 73 per cent of residents who got in touch to have their say rejected the idea.

Cllr Andrew Mobbs (Con, Parkhill) put forward the idea of raising council tax to cover the estimated £45,000 costs.

And he said of all opinions received, just 15.5 per cent wanted the lights to go back on and 11.5 per cent were happy to see only minor changes to the current system.

“I had a lot of feedback on this but the large majority of people do not support the option of paying to have the lights back and we will listen to the town on this,” he told councillors at their last meeting.

Warwickshire County Council now turns off nearly all lights in the district at midnight during the week and 1am at weekends to save £500,000 per year.

It would have cost the town taxpayers anywhere around 75,000 per year to have them back on following outcry in Kenilworth over safety for late night workers who are left to walk home in darkness.

Instead of trying to return the lights, the town council has instead put forward a list of 10 junctions to be considered for full lighting through the night when the county council reviews the scheme in the autumn.

These include St Nicholas Avenue, Queens Road, Randall Road, Farmer Road, Common Lane, Rouncil Lane and Malthouse Lane entrances. They have also requested more lights along Clinton Lane.

County Councillor, Dave Shilton (Con, Parkhill) said there was “nothing stopping” councillors or police from requesting for individual lights to be turned back on outside homes of vulnerable people.

“Elderly people can struggle and we can work to help those people,” he said. “There is nothing to stop you ringing the council to request a light go back and I have done so.”

Cllr Shilton is calling for the switch off time to be changed to 1am every night to allow for pub and restaurant workers to get home safely after outcry from businesses that staff and customers fear walking home in the dark.

“A light can make a big difference to feeling safe and to confidence on your own at night,” he said.

“We have a lot of late night business in Kenilworth and we need to support that.

“Not everyone can afford a taxi home every night and for these workers the light makes a big difference.”

I'm always highly dubious of these straw polls which claim to support a council's original decision

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Street lights switch-off could be reversed



Controversial street light switch-off times across Warwickshire 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.

Some council tax payers 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, with the lights going out at 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

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 in Nuneaton and Bedworth and the wider county 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.

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.