The final report on the thorny issue of street lighting at night was presented to the county council’s executive this week.
A total of five different recommendations were put before the group which was recommended to ensure a response was made by September.
The council had decided to go for ‘part-night’ lighting in a bid to save cash but there was a public outcry.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board approved the report into the decision’s impact at a meeting in April.
The executive, which met on Tuesday, was told: “The review considered a number of different areas where there may have been an impact, either positive or negative, as a result of the change to part night lighting.”
Issues raised included the fear of crime, shift workers not having light and some churches had moved midnight mass to 10pm so parishioners had a lit walk home.
The impact report said: “There is no clear link between part night lighting and an increase in crime. There has been a negative public perception.”
The recommendations were that police update and review data for the council annually; the county Road Safety Partnership ensures data is captured and reported; the executive formalises exemption sites and adds those for defibrillator sites; multi-agency work is carried out to reassure the public and change perceptions; the county develops protocol for communities to pay for street light upgrades.
