Streetlights in parts of Hertfordshire could stay on until 2am from next year, councillors have decided.

Currently only streetlights on the county’s network of ‘A’ roads and some other areas are lit throughout the night.

But in most areas the ‘part-night lighting policy’ means lights are switched off between 1am and 5am, after being progressively dimmed from 9pm.

On Monday (December 16) a meeting of the county council’s cabinet agreed that from next year – where there was justification – streetlights could stay on until 2am.

Executive member for highways and environment Cllr Phil Bibby said they had resisted previous calls by opposition councillors to extend lighting until 2am – pointing to “insufficient need or desire”.

However he said they were now pursuing a ‘compromise’ where councillors – subject to agreed criteria – could ask for the lights to remain on until 2am in particular locations.

As a result, council officers will now draw-up the criteria to determine the circumstances where a streetlight could remain on for longer – which will be considered by the highways and environment cabinet panel in May.

Cllr Bibby stressed that the change would be on a cost and carbon neutral basis.

That’s because the network of LED streetlights – that are now operated through a central control system – would be dimmed between 5am and 6am.

And the savings associated with the ‘dimming’ would exceed the cost of keeping streetlights on until 2am.

Lighting in Welwyn Hatfield and Three Rivers has not yet converted to the LED system. But this should be completed by March 2020 – before the criteria for extended lighting is set.

Council officers have estimated that the ‘part night lighting’ policy – combined with the move to LED street lights – has saved the county council £5million a year on electricity costs.

And, they say, it has cut carbon emissions from street-lighting by 60 per cent. That’s equivalent to 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.