Glos street lighting to be dimmed

The Citizen yesterday reported that 10,000 of the 59,000 street lights in Gloucestershire will be dimmed by 35% from 10pm to 5.30am. It will save £210,000 per year and cut emissions by 28% saving more than 980 tonnes of carbon.

Photo: Coffee to help keep me writing

I am quoted in the article saying: "I am delighted with the news. This is something that I have been pushing for a long time. There is overwhelming evidence that dimming street lights saves carbon emissions and saves money. And there is no evidence that dimming street lights increases crime rates."

However I also wanted to note that this is only a start - some villages and towns like Nailsworth have seen part night switch off of their lighting - why is this not being rolled out across the County as well? There is a failure to see the urgency needed in tackling climate change and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Furthermore there are huge advantages in reducing light pollution - an issue I have covered before on this blog.

I have written several emails and had conversations with the County as both Randwick and Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parishes have agreed to participate ages ago in a partial switch off - part of the delay I am told has been caused by an "opportunity" to obtain some government funding towards the cost of the scheme. The bureaucracy involved in pursuing this, apparently imposed an inordinate delay on doing anything. I will write again today to see if things can move. I'll let you know any news...