Alphington and Cowick start street light switch off
Around 1,000 streetlights in residential streets in Alphington and Cowick will be converted to part-night lighting tonight.
Exeter street lights previously on all-night will be switched off from about 12:30am to 5:30am, before coming on again until dawn.
Lighting on the main roads and busiest routes, including Alphington Road, Buddle Lane, Cowick Lane, Dunsford Road, Church Road (Alphington), Alphinbrook Road, Hennock Road Central and Bad Homburg Way will remain unchanged, operating all night.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “The changes will help cut carbon emissions and costs. At the outset, we set a target for the Council to save 4,000 tonnes of carbon from these changes, and that has already been achieved.
“Busy areas of the city centre and main roads will remain lit all night. We are also developing a network of busy “walking home routes” which will remain lit all night.”
Councillor Roy Hill, local Member for Alphington and Cowick said: “I am pleased that those residents who live in the two wards will be able to pass any concerns on to the council as the consultation will carry on for six months.”
Devon County Council is responsible for nearly 77,000 street lights, currently costing £3.4million in electricity and producing nearly 20,000 tonnes of CO2 when the policy was introduced in 2009.
The County Council’s annual emissions are almost 62,000 tonnes of CO2 – with street lighting accounting for around 30% of that, which is the equivalent of the total annual energy use of 7,300 average Devon homes or a town about the size of Honiton.
The council say that the policy has so far reduced emissions by more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2 and saved approximately £450,000pa from the Council’s electricity bill
This latest phase of Devon’s part-night lighting scheme takes the total number of converted residential street lights to over 42,000.
Residents can contact the Council’s customer service centre on 0845 155 1004, or email lighting@devon.gov.uk or write to Street Lighting, Devon County Council, Matford Lane Offices, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QW.
