Dark ages fear over lights switch-off
Saturday 17th April 2010, 8:53AM BST.
A north Shropshire business leader says proposals to switch off streets lights under radical plans to save money and combat climate change, would be sending the county back to the “dark ages”.
Lincoln McMullan, chairman of the Ellesmere Chamber of Commerce, has also raised fears about people’s safety if the town is plunged into darkness.
Dimmer switches could be fitted to some street lights while others could be turned off altogether in the cost-cutting scheme being considered by Shropshire Council.
Mr McMullan has hit out at the proposals, which could be piloted in Ellesmere, saying: “What about people’s safety? What about the CCTV system in Ellesmere, how will that work if we are in the dark?
“There are plenty of other ways to cut costs and combat climate change without sending us back to the dark ages.”
Shropshire Council is considering the plan as it battles public spending cuts and bids to deliver a 35 per cent cut in its carbon footprint over the next five years.
Philip Edwards, Shropshire Council’s street lighting officer, said: “We would like to stress no formal decision has been made on this.”
He said there is a national imperative to reduce energy usage and many councils are approaching this by varying the lighting levels of street lights outside busy hours when traffic and pedestrian levels are much lower.
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its a sensible cost saver stop moaning or be prepared to pay higher business rates and council tax (no thanks)
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Yep, 910AD thats where we’re heading. If you watched a caged animal that c*****d itself into a corner only to die there you’d say that the stupid species deserved to drive itself to extinction would’nt you?….Good party wasn’t it?
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I was on the Wrekin at 3am drinking some low tax cider when I nearly walked into a tree because it was so dark. What are the council doing regarding lighting public places so this does not happen?
There are few tall building on the Wrekin so it could possible be lit by just a few carefully placed spotlights, like at football grounds.
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Lateral thinking ! It’s the politicians way of getting what they want by making you think you want it.
DIMMER SWITCHES is what THEY want but you would have kicked up about the cost and asked why they needed them.
Now they have threatened to switch of the lights at night and YOU have fallen into their nice little trap and put the suggestion forward for them.
So they get what they want and YOU THINK YOU HAVE WON. hahaha
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Lincoln McMullan needs to go back to school and brush up his history. The dark ages are so called because we don’t know much about them, not because they didn’t have any street lights.
My understanding was they plan to reduce the lights. By switching off every other one, or by dimming them. Not by plunging the whole town into black out where you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Some perspective please Lincoln McMullan, stop being so alarmist.
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I think we have quite enough people in this county trying to take us back to the Dark Ages as it is!
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in the town there will still be light in the country it will go really dark which is good for star gazing, bats, birds etc etc
i welcome it for environmental reasons
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The ‘Dial4Light’ project saved the council of Lemgo in Germany £40,000 in a year.
If residents wanted the lights on they could simply ring a telephone number.
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