Street lighting in Dudley to change to help avoid council cash crisis

The authority is facing the prospect of a £3.7m deficit in the current financial year with very little cash in reserve to fill the gap.

The council’s chief finance officer has previously warned without strict spending controls and big savings he may have to issue an order under the Local Government Finance Act declaring Dudley effectively bankrupt.

Among the latest round of cuts, the borough is to start trimming and dimming its street lights which could save £194,000 in the current financial year.

Trimming is the process of programming lights, which are controlled by light levels, to switch on later and switch off earlier while dimming is a reduction the brightness of lighting.

The cuts were approved by Dudley’s director of environment, Nick NcGurk, after consultation with cabinet member for highways and environment, Councillor Damien Corfield.

A report on the decision acknowledges dimming lighting may impact on safety and crime prevention.

The report says: “Inevitably the reduced levels of street lighting could result in resident and councillor queries.

“Should complaints be a regular outcome it may be pertinent to undertake consultation with the public and gain political support to the proposals prior to implementation.”

Dudley spends more than £3m per year on street lighting and is currently replacing 24,000 old style 60 watt units with 23 watt LEDs which cut energy use by up to 50 percent.

The council plans to start by trimming lights by ten minutes and dimming by 25 percent for five hours per night.

The report says: “Due to the current financial pressures and the annually fluctuating street lighting energy budget, it is essential the street lighting section investigate innovative lighting solutions to reduce the energy bill."