Pembrokeshire Council's street lighting overhaul discussed

Tindle News

Part-night and LED street lighting changes started more than a decade ago are saving Pembrokeshire Council some £1.5m a year, committee members have heard. A report for members Pembrokeshire County Council’s Policy and Pre-Decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 18, presented by Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said, since 2009, the authority has implemented a system of part-night street lighting, which enables all lighting in non-core areas extinguished between midnight and 5.30am. This was followed in 2016 by the street lighting in core dusk-dawn areas being replaced with low-energy LED units, fitted with programmable photocells which enable dimming during quieter times. Since 2021 the remaining part-night lanterns have all been bulk-converted to LED. It added: “As part of the savings identified in the 2024/25 council budget, in 2024 the remaining 186 streetlights that had historically been installed in areas that do not comply with the policy criteria were finally decommissioned. “During this work the street lighting team received requests for lighting to be reinstated in 11 locations. These locations were reinvestigated, and none were found to satisfy the policy criteria for lighting, and have therefore not been restored.” In response to a perception the removal of lighting may lead to an increase in rural crime, the views of the local Rural Policing team were sought, the report said, the responses being: “I can present no evidence to suggest that areas where street lighting is not present has an increased chance of there being a crime within that area, compared to areas where there is street lighting. “However, the use of lighting to act as a deterrent to crime needs to be considered and thought through but is more than just simply the use of street lighting.” The report said the numbers of street-lighting lanterns managed by the council has not altered significantly over the last decade, with some 15,500 lanterns, but the changes and energy saving measures “has resulted in significant savings of circa £1.5m per annum to the authority surrounding the provision of this service”. Cllr Mike John, who had previously raised concerns about the loss of rural street lighting at Cabinet, expressed his disappointment the policy report was purely for noting, calling for a review of the whole policy. Cllr Sinnett responded saying said there were “no issues” with a further look at the criteria, giving his assurances councillors would be able to review the situation, but felt there was a need “to do it with a sense of realism,” the costs balanced against any concerns. Members backed the recommendation the report be noted. ©Vid: PCC webcast

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00:00particularly a rural perspective I guess. Councillor McJohn.

00:05Yeah thank you chair and thank you both for introducing the report.

00:09I had asked to speak today on this item only but then subsequently being a committee member I'm

00:15substituting anyway so yeah I mean I raise this as a question back in May

00:22regarding the loss of rural street lights and I asked for the cabinet member does he agree

00:27that it is time for this to be reviewed and in the minutes it does say that the cabinet member

00:34stated he'd be happy to request that the policy and pre-decision overview and scrutiny committee do

00:39review the criteria and the wider issues so that was good and accepted a little bit disappointing

00:45therefore that the report is only here to note today which I don't know is that the best way

00:51forward having asked and being committed to a full review of it but we'll see how that goes and I did

00:58stress at cabinet it's absolutely no reflection on on staff who are having to make the decisions

01:02based on the policy I appreciate and they've got a very very hard job to do they've got to look at

01:07it and make a decision and then have us as members challenge those decisions it's not an easy job I

01:12know so I mean absolutely no no criticism intended there at all it was purely because I felt having

01:19had many representations locally that the policy is skewed against rural areas and there's a discrimination

01:26if you like against people in those areas not having the same services the part night reduction

01:34has been generally accepted I mean that's that's gone through it turns off for most people obviously

01:38comments at the start but people don't really come to me much about that anymore that's not not the

01:45issue at all and also the switch to LED that's obviously saved a lot of money going to LED and

01:52that's to be welcomed and my question then would have been like some of these lights which come to

01:57the end of of life if they are making the policy why they couldn't just be put to LED because the cost

02:02saving from just having an LED there in itself must be quite a bit as opposed to a traditional type of

02:08streetlight but when I when I go on to the criteria then I mean it's number one it says the number of

02:16recorded nighttime personal injury accidents well that could possibly be low in rear areas because of

02:22the streetlights being there so by taking them away you don't know if there would be any accidents

02:27after that because I guess they wouldn't be recorded so I don't see how that can be a criteria really

02:35nor also the high vehicle of traffic or pedestrian news it's bound to be lower in rural areas but

02:41some are on circular walking routes used by many people pedestrians especially in villages

02:47it'll discourage people from some outdoor exercise early mornings evenings when they can't go out of

02:51their house and I do have people say to me that they even six seven o'clock in the evening now in the

02:56winter they're afraid to go outside their houses and that's not not saying crime has increased of course but

03:01people are that sort of uneasy they can't see to go out a lot of older people of course I mean

03:06what checks are actually done on a pedestrian usage of a route before those lights are diminished

03:12the levels of nighttime crime again possibly low because of lights being in place there is

03:18an upsurge in rural crime which was raised at ONS a few months ago and we did have a question off to

03:25the police to come to the partnership panel to review that so again it's the perception of crime a

03:34lot of the time as opposed to the actual crime and the safety people feel and the number of residents

03:41properties fronting onto the road or street again it's biased against rural areas you're not going to

03:46have the amount of properties going onto a street but you're going to have a lot of pedestrian usage

03:52especially when people as I said want to get out and walk a bit I've got a few case studies which

03:57I thought would be useful chair if you don't mind me just going through obviously anonymized but um

04:03one was I understand the council generally need to cut costs and therefore reduce the light in the

04:07county however I've recently spent two weeks staying with my elderly mother who was not who was most

04:12concerned about the current lack of lighting in the lane in general the lane is now desolate when dark

04:18and a very bleak environment for anyone using it dog walkers and runners regularly use lane and

04:23throughout my life this lady was in her 60s there have always been safety aspects having a light midway

04:29down a lane shining in both directions and I'm just for concept that is a single track lane with passing

04:35places it's a farm entrance you can see probably 100 meters either side of it so having a street plate

04:43there does quite quite a bit of illuminating very very useful and the course taking that away leaves that

04:49area in in darkness and I got a few like that on 60 mile an hour roads they're not 30 mile an hour

04:55back roads these are 60 mile an hour roads I'll go on to another one we were alarm to see the removal

05:03of a street light from the telegraph pole and it gives the date the light was strategically placed

05:08to light up a fast flowing water culvert which is below the telegraph pole and right beside the road

05:14to illuminate the end of the road for both pedestrians and vehicles that there are fast flowing streams

05:19at the lower level which are hidden when the tides are very high and that's an issue I've had on a few

05:24occasions as well where these lights are at the end of a road where the public path might carry on

05:30but they they illuminate to show when the tide is in and out and people mightn't be able to see that

05:36in dusk or early morning so there's a lot more to it in rural areas than just saying there's not many

05:42properties there's not many cars go past which is why I really wanted to have the the review of that and

05:49see if there are or if there is any scope to perhaps trial just the LED lights in place to see what savings

05:55they would they would bring then the other issue um it was mentioned that uh as part of the cost

06:00savings certain lights were identified to be cut off and members local members were informed I was

06:08informed and I challenged I think most of the ones in my area because I knew the the locations of them

06:14and the strategic importance of a light there but we also see lights then just taken out with any note

06:20without any notice to to the local member and I give one example of the storm last December

06:25when a tree came down and took the cable down um again it was a light on a on a road

06:31used by many many pedestrians and cyclists and that sort of thing and the light wasn't replaced and when

06:38I questioned it it was taken out under this policy because it didn't meet the criteria to remain

06:43well I hadn't sort of had any forewarning of that I didn't have a call to say look we're not going to

06:48replace that light so I'm fielding lots and lots of questions so it would be good if members were

06:55were kept up to date between the sort of budget setting on on any lights which are going out as

07:00well so I'll stop there chair I thank you for yeah when you challenged yeah the removal of the street

07:08leg were you successful or was it done anyway as part of the last ones no they've all remained off I have

07:16challenged previously and I actually remember meeting the cabinet member at the time Phil Baker

07:21at the location where two lights were deemed to be taken out and because of the area which had a very

07:27very high usage of pedestrians cyclists people with boats because it was on the river right at the end of

07:34the slipway the decision was made then to restore those two lights but that was probably seven eight years

07:41ago I can't I haven't looked at my records for that because that was pre the sort of latest round of

07:47lights being cut out but I was successful on that one another time there was an instance where a light

07:55was removed for damage and it was reinstated at request but again probably six or seven years ago

08:00um it's it's the cumulative effect of the the rest that have come in according according local issues

08:06thank you thank you for those comments mike um would you like to

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