COUNCIL bosses admit they need to convince South Gloucestershire residents that dimming street lights at night will not cause a spike in crime or endanger personal safety.
The plans aim to save the authority £200,000 a year in energy costs and help it meet carbon reduction goals.
It will take engineers two years to reprogramme all 31,500 lamps individually to just one-quarter of their brightness from 11pm to 6am.
The idea received broad support – 69 per cent – during public consultation from October to January, and trials in several areas in the district over the winter led to only one complaint – that they should be turned down even more, a council meeting heard.
But about one in 10 of the 783 respondents said the proposals would have a significant negative impact on them, including making them feel more vulnerable.
South Gloucestershire Youth Board, which gives a voice to young people aged 11 to 18, said it was “very much against reduced street lighting, especially around alleyways”, a report to councillors said.
Equalities campaigners warned in January that the plans are “dangerous” for some groups of people including bus passengers, villagers and those who were socially excluded, while a previous Violence Against Women and Girls survey carried out by the local authority found that 80 per cent wanted better lighting.
However, South Gloucestershire Council service director of place delivery Mark King told the scrutiny commission that there was no evidence that turning down street lamps was linked to a rise in crime, although he accepted a fear of this highlighted in the consultation needed to be tackled.
He said: “While 42 per cent considered there to be no real impact, there were some who see there would be an impact and that is mostly around perception of safety and crime rising as a result of the initiative.
“Not to belittle or underestimate those concerns, evidence shows that where we’ve done it ourselves in the past, and others have done this initiative, there is no real evidence of a correlation between crime and lighting levels.”
Cllr Brenda Langley (Conservative, Hanham) said: “A key factor here is public safety and the extent to which dimming street lights could make vulnerable groups in society feel less safe.
“With dimming lights, folks cycling will not have a clear vision of the potholes which usually fill up with rain.”
Mr King told the meeting on Wednesday, March 27, that a piece of work involving the communications team was needed to explain to residents that safety would not be compromised.
He said the police often asked the council to turn lights off in some areas to stop youths gathering.
“We very rarely get asked to turn street lights up,” Mr King said.
Council co-leader Cllr Ian Boulton (Labour, Staple Hill & Mangotsfield) said that having observed the trials in Thornbury, people did not notice the difference because it was so subtle.
He said: “The perception of being a victim of crime is very real.
“If you feel that you could be a victim of crime, that is as debilitating as being an actual victim of crime.
“There is a role for us as community leaders to explain that there is no evidence to demonstrate that by turning down the lights by just a small amount, which is what we’re talking about here, it’s imperceivable in many instances and will not have any effect on crime.
“We also need to consider that reducing the lighting by just a small amount has a positive effect on biodiversity.
“This has to be one of the easiest consultations I’ve seen.
“The fact that we have so many people in support of this proposal makes it really easy when we think of all the benefits of following this through.
“This gives us an opportunity to address those very real concerns.”
Cllr Jon Lean (Lib Dem, Frampton Cotterell) said the difference in brightness was so hard to see because the human eye adapted to changing light conditions.
A final decision will be made by the Lib Dem/Labour cabinet on April 15.
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