Street lights in Harlow to be kept on through the night

Turning the street lights back on will cost Harlow town around £106,000 a year

The street lights in Harlow are to be switched back on overnight from Sunday.

They have been turned off across Essex between 01:00 and 05:00 since March last year to save the county council more than £1m a year.

Residents had complained of injuries and crimes happening in the darkness.

Keeping the street lights on overnight will cost Harlow just under £106,000 a year, and the sum will be reviewed annually for the next four years.

The council will pay for the additional electricity in a deal with Essex County Council.

Earlier this year Harlow voted to raise its council tax by 1.5% to pay for this. It will have to meet the costs for CO2 emissions.

Harlow Council said it would also support any initiatives to explore the use of more energy-efficient lighting, to help reduce the cost to taxpayers.

Harlow Council leader Jon Clempner said switching off the lights had not been popular

Harlow Council leader Jon Clempner said the extra costs of keeping the lights on overnight amounted to "around 7p per week per household".

Essex County Council leader David Finch said: "I have carefully reviewed Harlow's plan to finance the street lights to remain on at night for at least the next four years. This is a good example of devolution in practice."

Essex County Council will continue to be responsible for the maintenance of 9,005 lights in Harlow.