Councillor Rod Menlove is to switch off the street lights in his own neighbourhood, temporarily, in a trial to cut carbon emissions.
Councillor Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, is leading an eight-week trial that will involve switching off the street lights in the Thorngrove Road and Leaside Way area of Wilmslow.
From February 1st, for four weeks, four out of five of the street lights in this residential area will gradually be switched off between the hours of 11pm and 6am. Lights will remain switched on at junctions and remote footpaths. From March 1st, all of the street lights in this area will be switched off, for a further four weeks, between the hours of 11pm and 6am.
On an annual basis, the energy saved in the trial area will be the equivalent of 3,000 five minute showers.
Councillor Rod Menlove said: "The impact street lights have on carbon emissions and indeed energy consumption cannot be ignored. This trial will help us, as an authority, to look at new ways we can make substantial carbon emission reductions in the future – for the benefit of the Cheshire East environment. I must stress that this is simply a trial – we are looking for feedback from residents on all aspects of the switch-off. As a Thorngrove resident myself, I will be part of the trial – experiencing it first-hand."
All residents involved in the trial are being informed prior to the trial getting underway. They will be asked their views both before the trial and again in March at the end of the trial to measure its success.
Councillor Rod Menlove continued: "This is a small scale trial involving 90 streetlights out of the Cheshire East total of 20,000 in residential areas. The carbon savings from the trial, on an annual basis, amount to 5 tonnes. For Cheshire East in total it is at the 1,400 tonne level. Of course, there are financial savings to be made and this trial would save around £1000 on an annual basis. For all streetlights in residential areas in Cheshire East the potential saving could be up to £240,000. Any financial savings of this kind would be a bonus but it is carbon saving and energy saving that are the key priorities here."
Tim O'Brien, an Astrophysicist from University of Manchester Jodrell Bank Observatory, said: "We are supportive of the campaign for dark skies. Any form of lighting from buildings or street lighting should be designed to reduce the light going up into the sky as there are a number of wonderful things to see in our skies, such as the Milky Way. Any amount of consideration for how this light is used and methods of reducing light from buildings or street lights is worthwhile."
