Conservatives Slammed for Pre-Judging Part Night Lighting Policy

Liberal Democrat opposition councillors on Herts County Council have hit out at the Conservatives for pre-judging a full review of the council's controversial street light policy.

Following a Highways and Waste Management Cabinet Panel, the Conservative-run county council issued a press release saying night
time turn off had been a success. Yet the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee is yet to undertake its full review of the policy of night time turn off. It will do that on the 1 October where it will hear from those thatwant changes to the policy and or even a complete reversal.

Liberal Democrat Leader and Highways spokesperson, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Central Watford and Oxhey), said:

"The Panel meeting did not endorse the turn off; it just noted the officer report on the savings to date. Yet a few days later the
Conservatives issued a press release giving the policy fulsome praise.

"They have clearly made their mind up and want to ignore whatever the Scrutiny process says.'

He added: "Liberal Democrats have never supported this blanket midnight turn off: there is no local flexibility and no attempt to convert the street lights to save energy with energy saving bulbs.

"The project has cost the council £3.75m to convert the lights so they can be turned off at night. It will take at least three years to recoup
that money. It would have been far better to have spent that money oninstalling energy saving light bulbs in all street lighting units and reduced carbon emissions that way."

On Tuesday 1 October, a day of scrutiny will be held to examine evidence on the project from a number of stakeholder including Hertfordshire Constabulary, other local authorities and the Panel.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst concluded: "Although we will put our view forward - as we have at the last two budget meetings - that there should be localism to allow lights to be kept on where there is a particular demand from local residents - it does seem that the Conservatives have already made up their minds.

"They do not seem to understand that in many urban centres midnight is too early to turn off the street lights.

"It is not good sense to turn them off before the last train from London gets in. In many parts of Hertfordshire such as at Watford the last train arrives just before 1am - and even later in St Albans - and the first leaves before 6am. In the winter commuters have to face pitch black streets as they make their way to or from the station. It's plain wrong!'"