Harlow Council respond to concerns over street lights being switched off
General / Mon 8th Aug 2022 at 08:18am
Harlow Council has responded to concerns over the possibility of street lights being turned off.
A Harlow Council spokesperson said: “The agreement to keep Harlow’s streetlights on all night was extended with Essex County Council in 2019 and runs until March 2023 and the costs are currently factored into Harlow Council’s financial planning process.
Negotiations on extending the agreement will take place later this year with the costs of any new agreement being considered as part of our usual budget setting process which will conclude in February 2023.
“The council will work with the county council to ensure that any new deal brings value for money for Harlow taxpayers.”
Harlow Tory councillors have also expressed an opinion.
Portfolio Holder for Strategic Growth, cllr Mike Hardware said: “I grew up in Cambridgeshire 50 years ago and all the lights went off at midnight and still do. There is no greater crime or accident rate there!
Switch them off and save electricity, money and the environment!
“It seems Labour care about none of these!
Julia Long
2022-08-08 08:50:12
There is enough nighttime crime goes on in this town at present and by switching the street lights off it will only make it worse!! Having family members that have done and do shift work, I worry about them coming home late as it is but if the lights go out it’ll be a greater worry. I don’t like going out at night as it is with the crime rate so high and this will encourage me to stay in even more
AB
2022-08-08 09:07:52
Turn street lights off in the small hours. They are a waste of time and dolittle to nothing to prevent crime.
J Smithson
2022-08-08 09:16:38
Great quote from Mike Hardware there. Next up: "I had a big lunch today so therefore nobody in the world is starving".
Ian Beckett
2022-08-08 10:16:34
Five days ago Your Harlow reported that the "Number of violent crimes in Harlow continue to increase". Turning the lights off would only see this escalate further unless cuts to Policing are reversed. Many violent crimes - against property and person are committed by opportunists who like nothing better than operating under the cover of darkness. I too remember the good old days, not in Cambridgeshire, but here in Harlow where we could leave our door unlocked during the day. Sadly those days have good and the people of our town deserve to be safe and feel safe too.
James Griggs
2022-08-08 10:27:08
Cllr Hardware appears to have forgotten that he is supposed to represent the residents of Harlow, not rural Cambridgeshire. His comments show how utterly disconnected he is with the issues facing this town. Harlow has the 2nd highest crime rate in Essex, due in no small part to the disastrous cuts made to policing by his Tory Government since 2010. The Tory Police Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex has done nothing in the face of this rise in local crime. He couldn’t even be bothered to attend a recent public meeting in Harlow and sent a deputy instead, a meeting which was very poorly attended because it was so poorly advertised. Cutting street lighting will make Harlow residents feel more vulnerable at night, that is a simple fact which we hear time and time again when listening to residents, perhaps Cllr Hardware should give it a try sometime. If residents don’t feel safe going out in the dark they will simply stay at home, at the same time as Cllr Hardware and his own Tory administration are talking up regenerating the local nighttime economy. They are utterly clueless!
Theman
2022-08-08 10:34:37
When we had the street lights switched off in the past, crime actually went down. This was only a few years ago and I find it odd not many people can remember..
James Leppard
2022-08-08 11:37:37
Once again we see Labour councillors jumping on any bandwagon and making broad statements without any substantive evidence to support their comments. What evidence is shown that more crimes are committed during the hours of darkness or where there is is no lighting? What type of crimes are we talking about? Again, Labour rarely produce reliable statistics. They really should be less indolent and do their homework, otherwise they risk appearing totally clueless.
Nicholas Taylor
2022-08-08 11:51:53
This has been the subject of much debate in the past and is one where some actual facts are required, such as the level of crime committed at night where the lights are left on compared with the number in similar towns where they are turned off, indeed just how many crimes are committed in the small hours. I might suggest that one advantage of turning them off is the hope that many of the cyclist you see riding a bike in the winter evenings and nights might take the trouble to get lights on their bikes, they are a flipping accident waiting to happen when you try and drive past them. When suggesting that street lights could be put up whilst attending a public meeting in Theydon Bois some years ago, there were was a unanimous response of "we do not want street lights here, if you go out at night, take a torch".
tony edwards
2022-08-08 12:20:28
Cllr Leppard - Given the very reasonable opening statement from the Council (which presumably was agreed by the the relevant portfolio holder) “The agreement to keep Harlow’s streetlights on all night was extended with Essex County Council in 2019 and runs until March 2023 and the costs are currently factored into Harlow Council’s financial planning process. Negotiations on extending the agreement will take place later this year with the costs of any new agreement being considered as part of our usual budget setting process which will conclude in February 2023. The council will work with the county council to ensure that any new deal brings value for money for Harlow taxpayers.” Is it not concerning that this stage Cllr Michael Hardware (who is after all Portfolio Holder for Strategic Growth) should make the statement he did? Has he and/or the Conservative Administration already prejudged the issue? In which case the Council's statement is meaningless, or is Councillor Hardware simply speaking out turn, and if so what has happened to the concept of "collective responsibility".
James Leppard
2022-08-08 12:55:09
Dear Cllr Edwards, Indeed, the statement is that the streetlights will be on under the current agreement until March 2023 and that negotiations regarding the extension of this will commence later in the year. So far, so good. I think Cllr Hardware has done nothing more than express a personal opinion and made a comment regarding the policy of another authority. There are no grounds to believe that the issue has been prejudged as you suggest. My comment relates to the pure conjecture and speculation by Cllr Griggs, who has certainly prejudged the issue. None of us has shown any evidence that more crime is committed at night, what types of crime, whether street lighting has any impact either way. I am not arguing either for or against, merely that some substantive supporting evidence should be provided for a more rational consideration of the issue. He is simply taking this issue to seek to score a political point. He has clearly not even considered whether it is accurate. I think Nicholas Taylor makes some valid points as do others regarding energy conservation, etc. It is not a simple one dimension question.
James Griggs
2022-08-08 13:29:51
Cllr Leppard, see attached. Whatever time of day a crime is committed in Harlow it affects the people we represent. If they say they feel safer by having the lights on then that is what should happen. There is no speculation on my part that your Tory Government has massively cut police numbers. Do you seriously suggest that hasn’t had an impact on the crime rate? I’ve yet to meet a resident who feels safer at the prospect of travelling around the town in darkness. How often do you walk around the town alone at night? Would you feel safe doing so? https://crimerate.co.uk/essex/harlow#:~:text=Harlow%20is%20the%20second%20most,116%20crimes%20per%201%2C000%20people
Bruce Wayne
2022-08-08 16:43:59
Crime is a factor. But what about when you have to walk to your car and there is a load of drains missing and vehicles are parked on kerbs as there is no parking facilities so you have to walk in the road and avoid pot holes…. There is a lot of factors of why this is a major concern for a lot of residents. Im sure Billy Burglar or choose your own name to insert ahead of Burglar would much rather enjoy the safety of the night
James Leppard
2022-08-08 16:53:49
Dear Cllr Griggs. Thanks for the link. The level of crime in Harlow is a cause for serious concern, particularly as there is a high level of violent crime. As I have said, nobody has actually said that lights will be turned off at night, merely that the current agreement runs until March 2023 and that negotiations for an extension will commence later this year. There is no basis, on the information provided to assume that lights will be turned off. Also your link does not provide an data as to when crimes occur. That said, perception is a factor.
tony edwards
2022-08-08 17:12:10
Cllr Leppard - you might be interested in this academic abstract on the link between street lighting and crime referred to by The College of Policing. It suggests there is strong evidence for a causal relationship. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.4073/csr.2008.13 It states "Five U.K. evaluation studies showed that improved lighting led to decreases in crime. Furthermore, in 2 studies (Dudley and Stoke-on-Trent), the financial savings from reduced crimes greatly exceeded the financial costs of the improved street lighting"
James Leppard
2022-08-08 17:21:30
Thanks Cllr Edwards. I shall be pleased to read it.
Mike
2022-08-08 19:32:07
Harlow does have a high level of crime, but how much is imported? Essex Live reported at couple of years ago- “ Meanwhile the Terminus House development, where a town centre ex-office block was converted into 'rabbit hutch' flats, has been a hub of crime, drug deals and rubbish being thrown out of the windows of the building, according to police.” The Town Centre north side is almost a no go area. It has very few shops open. The market place is full of anti-social drunks for most of the day. Around the Bus Terminus are groups of shady characters. No one with any sense wants to go there. Why would they, it is awful. The Council needs to get on with the regeneration, build decent flats and demolish places like Terminus House and ship them back to London and stop London Boroughs from buying properties here to ship out their problems. We had such a vibrant Town Centre with good shops. It has largely gone down really badly down over the past 25 years. It is shameful. The choice of shops is minimal. Nearly everybody I know shops in neighbouring towns. Harlow Town Centre regeneration has to be a priority for everybody. This is probably the most important project of the Council. As the town is expanding, it needs a strong economic/commercial base for our residents - new and old and to attract people from neighbouring districts as was the case previously.
Chris
2022-08-09 12:11:33
I do love the same old rhetoric government view "Turing lights off increases crime", it's as old as saying drug use causes violent crime etc. Get with the times and modernise views, we are no longer in the 70's!
Daniel Long
2022-08-09 18:25:10
Here is another broken promise from this Tory administration council. So much for pay less for your cup council tax and still receive a full service, liar, liar,liar and don't want the typical excuse from this Tory administration party of Harlow like I use get from the former Labour administration party of Harlow, that it is a county council matter, if anything this now excuse because Essex county council is Tory administrated and so is Harlow district council do if anything that is more reason for the Tory administration party of Harlow to speak up against thier colleagues in Essex county county for the sack of the safety of the the number one priority of Harlow, The Residents. This is why me and my wife spoilt our ballet papers in the last local elections and the by election in Bush fair. We do not trust Tories,Labour Lib dems or any of the parties who part candidates forward for the last local elections here Harlow because none of them are here for the number one priority of Harlow, the residents.
Nostradamus
2022-08-10 08:02:28
Why hasn't anyone published detailed data? % Crimes committed at night under darkness v % crimes in the day with types of crime identified? Otherwise it's conjecture. Criminals usually wear masks, residents might carry torches, lights could have motion sensors and or be solar powered , we could all get CCTV, the Council could install IR cameras in sensitive spots. Employers of shift workers could hire taxis to get workers home safely. Many measures that might save cash, electricity is getting so costly,.
Daniel Long
2022-08-12 08:49:06
If this Tory administration party of Harlow are planning o turning off the street lights, why didn't they think of this back at the beginning of the year so they could turn the street lights off during the summer months when it is lighter instead of the winter months when the days get darker quicker. Oh sorry that takes common sense and none of the councillors in Harlow including Labour councillors not just Tory councillors have common sense.
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