Shropshire towns block street lights switch-off plan
Councillors in north Shropshire have promised to keep streets lights on despite a cost-cutting scheme from Shropshire Council which has seen thousands of lights turned off for hours each night.
Shropshire Council is converting about 12,500 of its 18,000 street lights to automatically switch off between midnight and 5am.
But councillors from Wem, Ellesmere and Whitchurch have said that they will not be following suit.
Rob Hewson, Mayor of Whitchurch, said: "We have no intention at all of switching off our street lights, and I think it's a real shame that Shropshire Council have had to do it.
"It's a shame for the residents of the town. They are still paying all their council tax, and it would be much better if they had every other light left on.
"We are thinking of the safety of the town's residents."
Mayor of Ellesmere Alan Clarke said: "We have been very careful with our finances and we will be able to maintain our standards of commitment for the foreseeable future. We don't have any need to turn off the lights, and as a council we have decided that we won't be doing this."
But whilst Wem Town Council will not be following the scheme, councillors have suggested other methods to save money when it comes to street lighting.
A contractor is currently paid to carry out fortnightly patrols around the town to check that all lights are working.
Instead, patrols could be carried out on a report-only basis.
Councillors have asked the residents to help with reporting faulty street lights.
