South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has opened a six-week public consultation on plans to convert street lights in Filton to ‘part-night’ operation, a system that involves switching selected street lights off between midnight and 5am GMT, in order to reduce carbon emissions and conserve energy.
A statement on the consultation page of the council’s website explains:
“Evidence from South Gloucestershire and elsewhere shows that, where this careful approach is taken to part-night lighting, it has no notable adverse impact on crime levels or road safety. However we will continue to work closely with our partners in the police and other agencies to monitor progress.”
Subject to the findings of the consultation, conversion of the Filton street lights is due to begin in July 2013, with works scheduled to coincide with routine annual lighting maintenance activities in order to reduce costs.
The council says all street lights will be switched to part-night operation, except where it is considered they help mitigate crime and anti-social behaviour, or improve road safety and reduce accidents, in which case they will remain lit throughout the night.
Other exceptions are:
- Lights that are important for the operation of council or police CCTV surveillance cameras
- Lights that are close to 24-hour emergency services such as hospitals
- Lights next to pedestrian crossings and controlled junctions
- Lights next to sheltered housing premises
A detailed plan showing the proposed extent of the swtich-off in Filton is available on the council’s website.
Once fully implemented across South Gloucestershire, the scheme is expected to reduce the district’s carbon emissions by a total of 2,000 tonnes a year – equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 900 cars.
The scheme is also expected to reduce the council’s lighting-related energy bills by up to £250,000, or about a fifth of its total street lighting energy costs.
Head of StreetCare Mark King said:
“Part-night lighting has been introduced gradually and with great care since the policy was first adopted with cross-party support in 2008.”
“The safety and security of residents and road users is paramount and over a number of years we ran trials to make sure that the scheme would deliver the expected benefits without any adverse effects.”
“The results to date show that part night lighting is working well in South Gloucestershire and we look forward to completing implementation of the scheme later this year.”
Consultation on the Filton plans runs until Wednesday 12th June.
More info: Part-night street lighting in South Gloucestershire (SGC)
