Council leaders say money-saving plans to dim street lights in Stoke-on-Trent will not put public safety at risk.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is planning to dim selected street lights in order to save £100,000 a year, as part of new budget proposals.

But leaders insist they will not take a 'blanket' approach to the policy, and will only dim lights 'where it is practical and safe to do so'. Members of the housing, regeneration and operations scrutiny committee were told this could include areas which are illuminated by other lighting.

According to the business case for the proposal, the dimming would take place 'with community safety and community needs in mind', and would reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions and extend the lifespan of the street lights. Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, told the committee that similar proposals which went even further had been implemented elsewhere in the country.

He said: "This proposal is about finding more efficient ways of delivering the streetlighting service. There are places across the country which have done things differently and gone further than this. We've taken a view that in areas where there is existing lighting on other premises, it would make more sense to dim our lights, rather than applying a blanket dimming as we've seen in other places. This will cut carbon emissions and save on energy costs."

Dimming selected street lights would save the council £100,000 a year (LDRS).

Cllr Gordon-McCusker added that CCTV cameras did not require as much illumination as they did in the past, while car headlights were now much brighter.

Committee member Maxine Clarke quizzed officials on the criteria that would be used for deciding which lights to dim. She said: "We've got lots of care homes, as well as people on shifts walking home in the dark – so I'm trying to understand what the criteria will be, so I can explain to my residents if our lights are dimmed".

Carol Gibbs, director of housing, development and growth, said there would be no specific set of criteria, but that the council would consider various factors, including feedback from the public. Ms Gibbs suggested that residents in some parts of the city would welcome dimmer street lights.

Councillor Laura Carter said there was one such area in Fegg Hayes. She said: "In Fegg Hayes at the Hub there are lights that are on all night – they light through the church and it looks like lights are on inside because it's so bright. The street light that's outside the Hub is really redundant."

Councillor Diane Williams suggested that some street lights in rural parts of the city should be switched off at night, due to their impact on local wildlife.

A consultation on the council's budget proposals runs until February 10. Residents can have their say by visiting stoke.gov.uk/budget2025. They can also write to Budget 2025, c/o Executive Assistant to the Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer), Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke ST4 1HH.

------------

READ MORE: Stoke-on-Trent City Council to look at how it responded to recent cold weather

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.