Issue - items at meetings - Street Lighting in West Suffolk

Issue - meetings

Street Lighting in West Suffolk

Meeting: 08/11/2022 - Cabinet (Item 410)

410 Street Lighting (Report number: CAB/WS/22/058) pdf icon PDF 151 KB

Report number:     CAB/WS/22/058

Portfolio holder: Councillor Carol Bull

Lead officer: Alex Wilson

Decision:

Resolved:

That:

 

1.       The results of the street lighting audit, be acknowledged.

 

2.       The issue of streetlight ownership be returned to as a part of the wider planned review of its relationship with town and parish councils in 2023, linking it to more holistic discussions around the management of the urban realm.

 

3.       The information gathered from the audit be shared with Suffolk County Council and officers be authorised to support parish and town councils in that dialogue.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered this report, which at the request of Cabinet in June 2022, presented the findings of an audit of street lighting at district-level, including all parish and town council lighting undertaken over the summer of 2022. Following this work, Cabinet was now asked to consider and approve recommendations to take the matter forward.

 

The report provided background and context to the undertaking of the audit of street lighting in the district. Section 2.2 of report provided more detail on the responses that had been received from the 16 town and parish councils that had responded to the survey.

 

It was not possible to infer the views of the 65 parish and town councils that did not respond, and there would be other chances to follow this topic up in the future. This overall level of response was perhaps unsurprising because, as explained in the report to Cabinet in June 2022, parishes and town councils in the former St Edmundsbury area generally did not, for historical reasons, own any lights. Hence the different categorisations of engagement. However, of the 16 parish and town councils that did take part in the audit, the majority had indicated that they were satisfied with their current streetlights i.e. number, location, hours of operation, etc.

 

Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including that she and other Cabinet members had listened to the views of the local ward members that had made statements on this matter during Agenda item 4, Open Forum (see minute 406. above) and was mindful of the depth of feeling regarding the perceived disparity between the former Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury street light ownership. Councillor Bull added that the situation was complex with regards to street light ownership and further work needed to be done to ensure a fair and consistent approach was in place across the entire district.

 

Upon invitation by the Chair, the Strategic Director informed that subject to approval of the recommendations, a meeting with the Brandon Town Clerk and a Suffolk County Council highways engineer had been arranged for the following day to take this matter forward and meetings would be arranged with other town and parish councils in due course in order to achieve a mutually agreeable solution to this issue for all.

 

The Cabinet agreed that this matter was not without its complications; however, it was considered prudent and acceptable to return to the issue of light ownership as a part of the wider planned review of its relationship with town and parish councils in 2023 across the entire district, ensuring it linked to more holistic discussions around the management of the urban realm.

 

Resolved:

That:

 

1.       The results of the street lighting audit, be acknowledged.

 

2.       The issue of streetlight ownership be returned to as a part of the wider planned review of its relationship with town and parish councils in 2023, linking it to more holistic discussions around the management of the urban  ...  view the full minutes text for item 410


 

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