June 26, 2017 4.56 pm This story is over 81 months old

‘The policy is right’: Lincolnshire County Council leader has ‘no great intention’ of revisiting street lights switch off

Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill has said that the authority does not plan to change its stance on street lighting, saying that the policy is right. Street lights in Lincoln along with towns such as Boston, Skegness and Horncastle, have had their lights switched off at midnight over the last year, as part of the…
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill. Photo: The Lincolnite

Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill has said that the authority does not plan to change its stance on street lighting, saying that the policy is right.

Street lights in Lincoln along with towns such as Boston, Skegness and Horncastle, have had their lights switched off at midnight over the last year, as part of the council’s ambition to save £1.7 million from its annual £5 million street lighting budget.

In a live interview with Lincolnshire Reporter, Councillor Hill said: “I think that there are large parts of the county which don’t have any streetlights at all.

“I think the policy is right that at midnight in certain parts of the county, the lights do go off.

“We will review it to see if there are any areas where we can tweak the policy but I don’t think there’s any great intention, certainly on my part, to revisit.

“In Lincolnshire there is no evidence that crime has increased.”

Watch the full interview:

Five things we learned from Martin Hill

  1. A coastal highway from Lincoln to Skegness and a further rollout of broadband in rural parts of Lincolnshire are key priorities for the council moving forward.
  2. He argued that MPs should be vigorously campaigning to get a fairer funding deal for Lincolnshire County Council.
  3. Grantham A&E fully reopening as a 24 hour service is a red line for him in regards to the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan.
  4. The new chairperson of the Health Scrutiny Committee is Councillor Carl Macey, replacing Councillor Christine Talbot who wanted to stay in the post.
  5. He said the last thing the country needs is another general election, and that the government should get on with the Brexit process.

Council under pressure as Lincoln actor Colin McFarlane challenges street lights switch-off