Liberal democrat county councillors today welcomed the decision by conservative-run surrey county council to amend its unpopular street lighting policy. The policy, which was introduced in 2016 and early 2017, saw thousands of street lights turned off across the county without any consultation with the residents affected. The change of policy means that lights will stay on until 1am rather than midnight from Thursday 23rd November 2017.
Cllr Stephen Cooksey, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Highways & Environment said :
“The Conservative policy on street lighting in Surrey has been badly thought through, poorly implemented and is inconsistent. Whilst I welcome this small change in policy, this whole mess could have been avoided if they had consulted with residents before the changes were made and in an open and transparent fashion, so that amendments to the proposals suggested by residents could have been taken on board. Instead we have a piecemeal policy which has gradually unravelled over the year, and for which this Conservative administration owes Surrey residents an apology”.