07:38 Wednesday 6th January 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: Cambridge City Council says it’s willing to stump up the cash to keep the lights on in the city centre if the County Council goes ahead with plans to switch them off overnight. Eight town and parish councils have also said they’d be willing to contribute, including Grantchester, where Dave Webster has been for us this morning.
DAVE WEBSTER: It’s very eerie out here. It’s almost like a Sherlock Holmes novel. There’s a lot of fog. There’s a lot of mist. It’s very dark. It’s very very cold underfoot as well. We counted about three streetlamps in the centre of the village. Well it would save £270,000 a year to turn even more off, but Cambridgeshire County Council’s plans to switch off most of the streetlights in the county between midnight and six am proved very very controversial, with people concerned about crime and also their safety. Well the County Council asked both the public what they thought of the idea, and other small authorities if they’d be willing to contribute towards the costs of the switch-off. Of the councils that responded, eight of the town and parish councils including Grantchester Parish Council said yes, they would be willing to contribute to all or some of the streetlights. Fourteen said that they wouldn’t consider it. Cambridge City Council has said it’s willing to pay two-thirds of the costs, between two am and six am, a proposal the County Council says it will consider. Well I’m joined by Cambridge City councillor Ann Sinnott. So Ann, why has the City Council decided to find the money for these streetlights?
The County Council has a duty of care to provide for the safety of residents in the city. And as I said, there are real safety concerns.
ANN SINNOTT: Well I think first of all you have to bear in mind that the Highways Committee haven’t yet met, and its decision hasn’t been formally made. We are at City hoping that even at this late hour they will reconsider this plan.
DAVE WEBSTER: So this is really important to you. Continue reading “County street lamp switch-off could be piecemeal”