Town seeks views on all-night street lights

Residents and businesses in Skegness are being asked if they would be prepared to pay extra on their council tax so street lights can be left on overnight.

Lincolnshire County Council introduced a part-night lighting scheme in 2016, with about 42,000 streetlights across the county programmed to switch off between midnight and 06:00 in a cost-saving measure.

However, Skegness Town Councillor Danny Brooks, who is also the county council's executive member for environnment, has advocated for several years that lights are turned back on overnight in the town.

The Town Council is conducting a survey until 28 July to see if people would prefer the lights to be left on between midnight and 06:00 hours, with the cost being added to council tax bills.

"It's time to revisit whether the people still want the street lights back on," Brooks said.

The cost to convert the lights, which Brooks said would be £90,000, would be recovered through council tax bills.

He said the cost could be spread "over four or five years" and would amount to "about 5p a week for a council taxpayer".

In its Protocol for Reversal of Part Night Lighting, the county council says the initial cost per light of reversal is £53.70. Applicants must also cover the additional energy costs of leaving the lights on all night.

Street lights in Skegness town centre stay on overnight, but Brooks said the vast majority of residents lived on the outskirts where the lights are switched off at midnight.

"So they've got to walk from the town centre, then they go into pitch darkness before they can get to their caravan site or their houses," he said.

Skegness Town Council said residents' feedback would help inform its decision and ensure it reflects the wishes of the community.

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