Street lights face switch-off

8:18pm Wednesday 6th August 2008

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Hundreds of street lights could be switched off in a green scheme cutting carbon emissions - but road safety campaigners are worried it will be dangerous.

Oxfordshire County Council has begun consulting town and parish councils and the police about proposals to switch off street lights on 23 stretches of 16 roads for five hours each night.

The council said switching off hundreds of lampposts would only save it £7,785 a year, but suggested it could save carbon emissions worth 45.5 tonnes.

If the scheme is successful the council intends to extend it to other roads, Ian Hudspeth, cabinet member for transport has said.

The AA, motorcyclists and road safety campaigners feared the blackout could lead to more accidents, although the council said safety would be a priority.

A string of routes have been earmarked, including a stretch of the Gosford Link Road, in Kidlington, and part of Marston Ferry Link Road, in Oxford.

Steve Harding, chairman of the 168-strong motorcycling club Fox's Riders, questioned the wisdom of cloaking part of the A4074 approaching the Berinsfield roundabout in darkness.

He said: "There is traffic all the time on the road. The next roundabout up, Golden Balls, is an accident blackspot. They could reduce the lights a bit, maybe, but do not turn them out altogether."

The council said other local authorities in Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Essex and Powys in Wales had already implemented similar schemes.

The Oxfordshire plan would see lights turned off on short stretches of road between 12.30am and 5.30am.

A council spokesman said the blackout could begin by spring 2009, but insisted roundabouts on each of the roads would remain lit at all times.

Mr Hudspeth said: "It is important we reduce our carbon emissions and make financial savings wherever possible.

"We don't want to switch street lights off at night where there are any safety concerns or where residents raise other potential problems."

Paul Watters, head of roads policy at the AA, said: "We don't think it is a good idea.

"There is nothing worse for drivers than going from lit to unlit areas. Drivers' eyes have to adjust from lit to unlit roads and the unlit sections could conceal something.

"Clearly we all have to think about CO2, but we think this is about saving money."

In April, Didcot Town Council rejected a plan to put out lights on the A4130, highlighting road safety, the security of neighbouring houses and the fact it might deter night-time deliveries to a nearby industrial estate.

The council has asked County Hall to consider switching off lights on part of the road from Avon Way to Abingdon Road instead.

Didcot Town Council leader John Flood said: "It is a good idea - as long as it does not compromise road safety."

But Mike Embling campaigned for increased safety on the A4130 following the death of his son Grant in a road accident in September.

He said: "I don't think it's a good idea, even between 12.30 and 5.30am - there is a lot of traffic which uses that road. The council should get more efficient lamps instead."