Open Letter to Hertfordshire Residents,

Do you want local streets lights to stay on till 2am, whilst still saving the county council money?

You would have thought this was a no brainer. So did I - and so did the Liberal Democrat group at Herts County Council.

We checked with county officers about dimming the lights from 5am till 6am - to the same level the new LED lights are now being dimmed to at 9pm, with no noticeable lighting differences. It is possible to keep every street light on till 2am, but still save the county council £11,000 a year.

Ok, it’s not much but every little helps. So we proposed that the new LED lights stay on till 2am, if requested by the local county councillor for their area. With the new LED system it is possible to arrange this area by area (and even street by street) at no extra cost.

We accept that in some areas (probably mainly rural) residents want the lights fully off earlier than 2am. This was allowed for. Supporting the principle of localism which the Conservatives said they agreed with.

Turning on just half of the lights till 2am would have saved even more - £20,000 a year more.

So what has been the Conservatives’ reply? We would not wish to consider additional initiatives for the time being.

In other words, as it’s a Lib Dem idea for making our streets safer with lighting on until later, plus saving the council money - they can’t support it!

Dogmatic or what?

So next May when the Conservatives come calling for your vote, and you wanted that side street lit later at night so you could walk home safely from a late train or from being out and about, just remind yourself why the lights are off!

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst

Liberal Democrat Group Leader