Lights go out in move to cut costs and emissions

The survey found that 3,080 miles of motorways and trunk roads in England are now completely unlit, with a further 47 miles, including a busy stretch of the M1 between Luton and Milton Keynes, dark between midnight and 5am. Some 98 of 134 councils questioned (73 per cent) said that they had switched off or dimmed lights, or were planning to.

All England’s 27 county councils have turned off or dimmed street lamps in their areas, on the day when the clocks went back, plunging the country into darkness earlier in the evenings. The survey found that 70 per cent of the motorway network is now unlit at night, saving the Highways Agency some £400,000 last year and reducing carbon emissions.

Last week it emerged that street lights could soon be switched off in Scarborough overnight if cost-cutting plans are backed.

The proposals are part of North Yorkshire County Council’s plans for reducing the county’s £1.7m street lighting and signing energy bill by almost £400,000.

In May the Yorkshire Post revealed how local authorities across the region are already considering plans which could see over 40,000 lights switched off overnight while others are
dimming lights to cut energy
bills.