Surrey’s street lights could be turned back on between midnight and 5am, but district and borough councils would have to specifically request this and then pay the energy bill.

The county council controversially turned off 44,000 of Surrey’s 89,000 street lights between midnight and 5am to save an estimated £210,000 per year.

But Surrey County Council’s cabinet approved a paper today (Tuesday, May 30) allowing the county’s 11 district and borough councils the option of requesting lights in their area to be excluded from the part-night lighting scheme.

More than 4,000 residents had signed a petition calling for the lights to be turned back on, but councillors today said many residents had told them on the doorstep they were “pleased” about the lights being out.

From December: Surrey County Council announces streetlights to be turned off in Epsom and Ewell

But paying to turn the lights back on is not a decision Epsom and Ewell Borough Council could take lightly, a councillor said.

Following a question from Ewell councillor John Beckett at a cabinet meeting in March, it emerged that to keep the lights on in the borough for an extra hour it would cost £5,500 a year. To keep the lights on between midnight and 5am, this would increase proportionally to £27,500.

After Tuesday’s decision, Councillor Beckett asked: “Why should the borough be responsible for a Surrey County Council responsibility?

“For Epsom and Ewell, being the smallest borough in Surrey, £27,500 is a substantial amount.

“It is not a decision we could take lightly.”

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At Tuesday’s meeting, council leader David Hodge (pictured above) defended the original decision: “When the cabinet made this decision it was originally considered a sound decision based on facts and what was happening.

“I think it’s important that we have listened to the residents in different areas and to recommendations about safety issues and the environmental impact as well.”

Cabinet member for Communities Denise Turner-Stewart said late-night workers were having to return home in total darkness and supported allowing local authorities to keep the lights on if requested.

She added: “I think it’s entirely reasonable to allow this to happen.”

Claire Curran, member for children, said flexibility was needed in determining which lights were turned off, and supported the paper: “Surrey is not a homogenous area – what’s right in a rural area is not right in a built-up area.”

From April: Disabled man calls for Surrey street lights to be turned back on after thugs target car in Epsom under cover of darkness

But other councillors supported the original decision to turn the lights off between midnight and 5am, and argued the council must make sure all costs were passed on to local authorities.

Education member Mary Lewis said: “I think we’re ignoring the residents who say they’re pleased about this because they can see the night sky.”

Cabinet member for Highways Decisions Colin Kemp added that “as many, if not more, are pleased (about the lights being off) – but they’re not signing petitions.”

In the October 2016 cabinet report, officers wrote that it was estimated switching off 44,000 lights in residential roads would result in a reduction in harmful CO2 emissions of approximately 1,250 tonnes each year – equivalent to just more than two per cent of the council’s total CO2 consumption.

And the council had chosen the roads which were to have their lights turned off following a consultation with Surrey Police about areas with high-and low-crime levels.

Cabinet member for Highways Decision Colin Kemp added that the £210,000 the council would save per year could fund one kilometre of major highways repair, or five-and-a-half kilometres of highways resurfacing.

After today’s decision, district and borough councils can now request to have the lights turned on, but would have to pay the energy bill and carbon tax for doing so for five years.

An Epsom and Ewell Borough Council spokesman said the council had not been approached by Surrey County Council ahead of today’s cabinet meeting, and there were no formal plans as yet to request turning the borough’s lights back on.

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