Over the past five year hundreds of thousands of pounds have been cut in the Isle of Wight Council’s street light spending, without a reduction in the number of street lights on the Island.
Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show in 2019/20 the council spent £926,000 on street lighting costs.
IWC: No reduction in number of street lights
In 2014/15, however, the year after the Isle of Wight Council started the Highways PFI contract, the council spent £1.5 million — a real terms cut of 39 per cent.
The council says there has been no reduction in the number of street lights on the Island.
Across England, in the same period, street light spending only fell 15 per cent in real terms.
Making streets safer for women
It comes after calls to make streets safer for women following the murder of Sarah Everard last month in London, who disappeared while walking home from a friend’s house.
The government said at the time it was taking ‘immediate steps’ to improve security, including doubling the Safer Streets fund – which provides neighbourhood measures such as better lighting and CCTV – to £45 million.
Caliskan: Renewed focus to tackle violence against women and girls needed
Nesil Caliskan, chair of the safer and stronger communities board at the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said community safety is a top priority and despite significant funding pressures in recent years, councils continue to invest heavily on street lighting.
She said,
“We are pleased with the extension of the Safer Streets Fund, but its primary aim is to tackle persistent street crime and burglary, so while helpful to see increased funding for crime prevention measures, there needs to be a renewed focus on measures that will effectively tackle violence against women and girls.”
12,068 street lights across the Island
On the Island, since the start of the Highways PFI contract in 2013, Island Roads have been working to enhance or replace all the 12,068 street lights across the Island, to make the lighting brighter and require less maintenance.
The lights have been replaced, according to a council spokesperson, on a like-for-like basis with energy-efficient LED lamps that reduce light pollution, more reliable and efficient.
Year-on-year energy cost savings
This has, the spokesperson said, enabled the council to make year-on-year energy cost savings, and channel the money instead into frontline services.
While some streetlights have been dimmed slightly at certain locations, following a trial, they have not been dimmed in sensitive areas such as town centres or crossings.
CCTV cameras
Another safety measure on Island streets are CCTV cameras which continue to operate from fixed positions, the council said.
All the footage is recorded and kept for a period to provide evidence if needed.
Despite cuts to CCTV control room staff, in an effort to save money in the PFI contract, a weekly schedule of active monitoring takes place, with a contingency to increase it should the police request it.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Norbert Toth under CC BY 2.0
