£775,000 cut to street lighting

Derbyshire residents could be left in the dark after the county council announced plans to cut its annual street lighting budget.

Derbyshire County Council has revealed plans to slash its lighting budget by £775,000.

A spokesman for the authority said the budget cut means they will no longer routinely replace street lighting bulbs every three years, and they will not be able to replace every light bulb when it goes out.

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There are 89,000 street lights in Derbyshire and around 18,000 street lights are expected to go out during the current financial year.

The council only has the money to replace 12,000 of them, which will leave 6,000 not replaced.

The council now plans to launch a consultation to ask the public for their views on where street light bulbs should be replaced when they go out.

Coun Dean Collins, cabinet member for jobs, economy and transport, said: “We’ve decided not to routinely replace light bulbs , but this will lead to more street lights going out when they get to the end of their working life. We won’t be able to replace every light bulb when it expires, so need to know where people think we should spend the limited amount of money we have. “