Cheshire East Council plans to switch off street lighting overnight

The plans will be discussed at a meeting next week

Street lighting could be turned off overnight in some parts of Cheshire, as part of plans to cut costs.

Cheshire East Council is set to discuss plans to switch off lights all the time or during certain hours of the night across the borough.

A report for the authority said the budget for street lighting costs had been reduced to help address financial pressures it was facing.

The proposal will be discussed at a meeting on 20 July.

Rural and urban

A Highways and Transport Committee report said that street lighting made up almost 9% of the highways budget.

The council's energy costs are set to rise by 11% so it is looking for ways to save money.

A proposal to turn off alternative street lights has been discounted.

According to the report, lights would remain on all the time in town centres, busy roads, industrial areas and places with high amounts of crime.

But some rural and urban roads, both main and residential, could have their lighting changed.

Some lights would be switched off and others switched off during certain hours of the night, likely between 01:00 and 05:00.

The report said the council would assess every road with street lighting in the borough and it would then be "fine-tuned" to take account of individual factors in each area such as high footfall, bus routes and locations of accidents or anti-social behaviour.

A public consultation into the proposals is set to take place in September or October this year.

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