Street lights along non-residential roads in Caerphilly County Borough are to be switched off in a bid to save cash and reduce the authority’s carbon footprint.
Councillors gave the go-ahead to the controversial Plaid Cymru plan at a meeting last night.
It was agreed that street lights will be turned off between midnight and 5.30am on all main roads connecting towns and villages, including industrial areas.
The move is anticipated to save in excess of 850 tonnes of carbon each year and a significant amount of money.
Councillor Rob Gough, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet member for transportation and planning, said: “We fully appreciate that this is a sensitive issue, but we have carefully considered all the issues and feel that this option will have the least impact on our residents.
“The roads affected will be in non residential areas at a time when traffic use is minimal and as an extra safeguard we have agreed to carry out health and safety impact assessments on any routes that may be causing concern.”
The switch-off plan attracted opposition from Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert who said the council’s public consultation had been “bungled”.
In a Caerphilly Observer poll, 54% of readers said the council was right to turn street lights off.
Deputy council leader Colin Mann said: “We have pledged to hit ambitious green targets and need to consider new ways of becoming cleaner and greener.
“This decision clearly demonstrates our commitment to improving the environment and we are confident that this option will result in the least disruption to our local communities.”