Councils making good savings thanks to part night scheme in Thornbury

Measures to conserve energy by switching off street lights between midnight and 5am in Thornbury are reducing the district's energy costs and carbon emissions without compromising community safety, council and police figures show.

Council data show that the 4,000 lights now switched to 'part night' lighting are on track to save £55,000 a year in energy costs, while reducing carbon emissions by a quarter.

Meanwhile separate police figures reveal that recorded night time crime levels have continued to fall in areas where the scheme has been introduced. In the context of a general fall in crime, recorded night time crime has fallen by 50 per cent in Frampton Cotterell, 28 per cent in Thornbury and 17 per cent in Bradley Stoke compared to a year ago.

South Gloucestershire Council executive member for communities James Hunt said:

"These figures are very welcome. They show that with careful implementation,part night lighting can significantly cut our lighting-related energy costs and carbon emissions, without compromising community safety.

"We have worked closely with residents, the police and town and parish councils to introduce the scheme and look forward to continuing this positive approach as the scheme is rolled out further across the district."

South Gloucestershire District Superintendent Andy Williams said: "Police have been monitoring the impact of part night lighting on crime as it has been rolled out in towns and villages across South Gloucestershire over the past year.

"Our findings mirror the national picture, which is that part night lighting has so far not had any notable adverse impact on crime.

"Data from September shows that in fact that many areas where street lighting has been reduced in South Gloucestershire have seen a reduction in night-time crime since the switch-off.

"We will not be complacent and will continue to monitor incidents and work with South Gloucestershire Council to ensure South Gloucestershire remains a safe place to live and work."

South Gloucestershire has approximately 30,000 street lights which cost £1.25m to light each year and generate some 8,000 tonnes of CO2. Plans for part night lighting were approved by a cross-party group of councillors in 2008 and in time the council intends to switch all eligible street lights to the scheme, saving an estimated £250,000 in energy costs each year and reducing carbon emissions by nearly a quarter.

Stringent safety criteria are used to assess whether a light can be safely switched to part night operation and many are automatically excluded. These include lights at junctions or roundabouts, as well as those in areas with above-average traffic accident or crime statistics.

Lights next to sheltered housing or 24-hour emergency services are also excluded from the scheme, as are those near pedestrian crossings, subways, enclosed footpaths and alleyways.