A COUNCIL leader has announced when street lights will be turned back on at night across Essex towns. Basildon Borough Council is switching the lights back on at night this week, from Monday September 15, and council leader Gavin Callaghan says by Friday, September 19, all the street lights will be on reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
It is expected to cost the council almost half a million pound for four years to keep the streets lit at night. In February 2014, Essex County Council switched street lighting off across the county between the hours of midnight and 5am, these times were later revised to 1am to 5am.
According to Basildon Council, the decision to turn the lights off at night “was not popular with residents and in some areas, such as Pitsea, the lights did remain on.” The council agreed the plans to turn on the lights in June.
Announcing the update on Friday, September 12, Gavin Callaghan, Labour council leader, said: “My administration promised you that we were going to turn the street lights back on all night. I am delighted to say the deal has been signed, it has been done with Essex County Council and from Monday the street lights will go on all night across the whole Basildon borough. It will take about five days to reprogram the whole of the borough so by next Friday every single street light across the Basildon borough will be on all night long.
“So if you’re a shift worker and you’re getting home late at night, or you’re leaving early in the morning, or whatever your reasons for being out throughout the evening are, the street lights will be on making our communities safer. This is another promise delivered by this administration. We promised you we were going to make our community safer and turning the street lights on is a big part of that.”
