On Thursday, Shropshire Council rejected plans to invest in upgraded LED streetlights. There is a danger that many streetlights will go out as old sodium lamps fail. The rejection by Conservative councillors also means that street lighting will cost taxpayers more in the long run. The Conservatives also rejected proposals to work with parish councils on environmental improvements.
I am fond of early morning walks with Mel the Collie. But in recent days, I’ve noticed a lack of streetlights. Some lights are on all night. Others are part-night lights. These turn off at around midnight and resume their task of lighting our streets at around 5.30am. In the last few days, the part-night lighting hasn’t come on until around 6.00am. I suspect that the cause is the full moon that has been hanging high in the west sky in the early hours. For the last few days, this has been a magnificent sight and it seems to be bright enough to persuade our rather dumb streetlights to oversleeping. But a full or even a waning gibbous moon is not bright enough to light alleys and nooks and crannies of the Parys Road, Tollgate and Sheet Road area. We need streetlights on for those out walking or off to…
People have been contacting me to express their annoyance that street lights are currently turning off between 10.30pm and 11pm. That’s an hour earlier than the 12pm shutdown set out in Shropshire Council’s policies. This morning I have received a detailed explanation from Jason Hughes, the council’s street lighting champion. It turns out its all down to technology – pretty dumb technology as it happens. But the council is looking at new tools to improve the way the lights operate. This smart technology (no jokes about brighter street lights please) will allow managers in Shirehall to control lights and identify faults centrally.