Councillors air safety fears at plans to turn Newport’s streetlights off to save money

Rhiannon James, local democracy reporter

Newport council is proposing to switch the city’s street lights off overnight in a bid to save money.

Currently, around half the streetlights in the city – which are all LED – are switched off from 12am until 6am every night, with the exception of some areas.

As part of the draft budget for 2023/24, Newport City Council has said it wants to roll this out to all streetlights.

Newport’s only Green Party councillor Lauren James said that safety should come before energy saving.

Cllr James, who represents Shaftesbury, said: “We have still got to make sure people are safe.

“I hope that the council is looking into it and making sure that there are things like high-visibility strips on steps, so it’s safe for those who do have to be out at those times.”

Independent councillor Andrew Sterry said residents in his Lliswerry ward have expressed concerns at the council’s proposal.

Cllr Sterry said: “I am against this proposal as I received many comments from my residents regarding this proposal and they’re extremely concerned about crime rates going up.

“It wasn’t that long ago that all the streetlights were changed to LED to save costs.”

A similar streetlight policy was adopted in 2019 by neighbouring Caerphilly County Borough Council, which has caused controversy amongst opposition councillors.

The council’s budget proposals are open for consultation until February 2. Comments can be made here or by emailing changing.services@newport.gov.uk . You can also post comments to: Freepost POLICY AND PARTNERSHIP TEAM, Newport City Council, Civic Centre Newport, NP20 4UR.