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A scheme to improve “unsafe” streets is an “excellent idea” but does not go far enough, a county councillor has said.
Lincolnshire Police’s Streetsafe scheme has received more than 200 reports about areas people feel unsafe due to lack of lighting since it launched in May.
The force has also worked with one building owner to take action to improving lighting around their property.
Lincolnshire County Council introduced part-night lighting across the county in 2016/17, in response to budget pressure.
Bosses say the change has made millions in savings and has not led to an increase in crime because of the switchover.
In response, Lincolnshire County Council Labour Councillor Julie Killey said: “Any move in terms of improving street lighting is excellent and I’m glad Lincolnshire Police are taking it on.”
However, the Park Ward councillor said she had raised with the county council that more lights needed to be switched on – particularly in urban areas.
“Nothing actually ever gets done and I’ve had constituents complaining to me about part-time street lighting,” she added.
Lincolnshire County Councillor Julie Killey. | Image: LCC
She said complaints to her around the issue and anti-social behaviour – particularly about women and children – had risen and that the lack of lights, while not being the main cause of crime, did not help people feel safe.
She acknowledged a difference between rural and urban street lighting and called for a return to full-time streetlights in the city.
Councillor Killey felt the savings made did not balance with the public’s concerns.
She also questioned why a private property owner had to pay for lighting improvements when tax payers would generally expect the council to pay for streetlighting.
So far the council has converted around 42,000 lights and has saved 6,200 tonnes of CO2 and £1.7 million a year.
New cameras organised by Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones cover routes into and out of the city centre. | Image: Daniel Jaines
Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways and transport, said: “Clearly, with ever-increasing energy costs, the theoretical savings today are much greater (currently in excess of £2.5 million), and will only increase as prices rise further.
“In fact, we are expecting our electricity costs per unit to increase by as much as 70% from 1 October 2022, more than wiping out the savings made in 2016/17.”
He said there were exemptions to the scheme including town and city centres and areas of high crime, but added Lincolnshire as a whole was “a relatively low crime county when compared with the rest of the country”.
Cllr Richard Davies
He noted that a Scrutiny Review in 2018, which included emergency services such as Lincolnshire Police, concluded that there was “no direct demonstrable link between part-night lighting and actual changes in crime levels”
“Indeed, whilst some areas had increased crime levels, others had decreased,” he added.
“However, the police did commit to contacting the highways authority directly if they had any widespread concerns about its impact, which they have not done to date.”
He said a highlight around the impact on fear of crime resulted in arrangements for lower tier councils to pay for all night street lights where they believe there was an issue.
Since the process was introduced in 2019, only four lights in the county have been converted.
“Without the details of the specific building referred to in the report, we are unable to comment on the circumstances,” he added
“However, it is worth noting that the purpose of street lighting is to light the highway and any lighting provided to adjacent private property is an incidental benefit.”
The app is not the only solution to safety fears the police have brought in, with a £50,000 bid seeing 29 new cameras installed in April covering a number of main walking routes into and out of the city centre.
In the first month, the cameras, which aim to improve safety for women during the darkest hours, led to seven arrests and monitored 26 seperate incidents.
