Cheshire East Council is set to cut back on street lighting and hike parking charges to achieve what it says are essential ‘savings’.
At a meeting of the council’s highways and transport committee on Thursday (20 July), councillors will consider a report on proposals to deliver energy and cost savings measures from street lighting, as well a separate report on work to review car parking charges.
It follows the approval of the council’s adopted Medium Term Financial Strategy, which includes proposals for how the council will balance its budget for the next four years.
The council said that faced with an 11% increase in energy rates this year, it is proposing to reduce its energy consumption by either turning some street lights off completely, or by turning some off for part of the night, starting from this winter.
Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of the council and chair of its highways and transport committee, said: ‘The costs relating to street lights already make up almost 9% of the highway service’s overall budget and increases in energy rates alone will add a further financial pressure of around £137,000 this year.
‘Over the next two years, we must reduce the borough’s annual street lighting energy consumption by almost 40% so that we can deliver savings of £0.45m’
The council said that in developing its proposals it will consider factors including areas of high footfall, bus routes, pedestrian crossing facilities, the locations of road traffic collisions and anti-social behaviour. It added that it is exploring a number of technical solutions that can support the implementation of the options.
The report on parking sets out how the council is carrying out a review to understand how people are using car parks and how the service can respond to behaviour changes following the covid pandemic.
Cllr Browne said: Since the covid pandemic, there have been significant changes in the use of our car parks, especially a reduction in long-stay parking because of factors such as home-working.
‘Our current parking provision reflects legacy arrangements which do not take into account the individuality of our towns, are difficult for customers to understand and may be seen to lack fairness across the borough.’
He added that the council must look to reduce costs and consider other sources of revenue generation to fill a £20m gap in funding, adding: ‘The parking review we are now carrying out represents an opportunity to address these factors and ensure that we can apply our parking policies in a fair and consistent way while also supporting the council’s wider aims and ambitions – especially reducing transport-related carbon emissions.’
The July issue of Highways magazine contains a feature on street lighting, including a look at an ADEPT Live Labs project that aims for a wholesale rethink on the issue.
