Street lighting

Warwickshire County Council implemented part-night lighting countywide in April 2013. This followed the implementation of part-night lighting in the Warwick District Council area in December 2012; and in Rugby Borough Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council areas in February 2013. Part-night lighting was implemented to reduce the street lighting electricity budget by £500,000 per annum so that this funding could be used to protect other vital services provided by WCC.

What is part-night lighting?

Part-night lighting is the term we use for a light that switches off for part of the night.

Part-night street lights operating times:

*The lights will not switch on for these periods during the Summer months as it is already daylight.)

Do all street lights operate part-night?

Approximately 37% of WCC street lights operate all-night, and approximately 63% operate part-night.

All council-operated street lights are subject to part-night lighting except for certain types of location where they are exempt from part-night lighting and operate all-night. These locations are:-

• Where there are potential hazards on the highway such as roundabouts, traffic signal controlled junctions, central carriageway islands, traffic calming features, road humps etc.
• At formal pedestrian crossings (Zebra, Pelican, Puffin, Toucan and Pegasus).
• Areas covered by permanent Local Authority/Police CCTV cameras.
• Areas adjacent to elderly people care homes, sheltered accommodation complexes and A&E departments.
• Lighting adjacent to operational taxi ranks.
• Lighting on public footpaths, alleyways and cycle paths which are located away from roads.
• Parish, Town, District or Borough Council owned lighting are not be affected by Warwickshire County Council’s changes.

Can the Council legally turn off the lights?

Yes. There is no statutory requirement on Local Authorities in the UK to light the highway. The law states that:

• The Highways Act empowers local authorities to light roads but does not place a duty to do so.
• The Council has a duty of care to road users and has an obligation to light permanent obstructions on the highway, such as speed humps and central refuges.

Will any lighting be switched back on?

In short, No.

In the case of an emergency, such as road traffic collision or an area search, the Police are able to request for the lights in a local area to be temporarily switched back on for the duration of the incident.

Whenever there are extreme weather events such as heavy snow or dense fog, we assess the situation as to whether the part-night street lights should remain on all-night. Once decided, the lights are temporarily switched to all-night operation for the duration of the extreme weather event.

Are 30mph speed limits affected if lights are switched off?

No. A 30mph speed limit automatically applies in any road containing a system of street lights not more than 200 yards apart, unless signposted with different speed limit. There is currently no law stating that these lights have to be switched on all night for the speed limit to be applicable. Therefore, motorists are advised that the usual 30mph speed limit will be in place regardless of whether the lights are switched on or not.

Is part-night lighting causing an increase in crime and traffic accidents?

No.

We have undertaken analytical exercises over a number of years to understand whether there is a correlation between the part-night lighting policy, crime levels and Road Traffic Injury Incidents. The evidence has shown that there is no correlation.

Now that many of the street lights are LED and save energy, can’t the part-night lights be changed to all-night lights?

Unfortunately not. LED lanterns do significantly reduce the amount of electricity consumed by street lights compared with traditional light sources but unfortunately, due to electricity price increases over recent years it would still costs over £500,000 to make this change.