A thousand Norfolk street lights could be switched off

Norfolk County Council is considering switching off 2pc of its 53,000 street lights to save the authority £200,000 - on top of a thousand lights it already agreed to turn off this year.

A thousand more street lights could be turned off (Image: Adrian Judd)

But officers at the County Hall said they did not yet have a list of the roads where the lights could go out.

A spokesman said: "It is currently a work in progress, but will be published in full should the proposal be taken forward, when the public consultation is launched."

The saving has been mooted as part of the Conservative-controlled council's proposals to help plug a £45m gap in its budget for next year.

The streetlight switch off is one of the proposals, along with cutting spending on adult social care and children's services, put forward to save £33m of the £45m target.

Andrew Jamieson, deputy leader of Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk County Council)

The county council is still hoping that the government will announce extra cash to help councils, but Andrew Jamieson, deputy leader, said the authority was facing the prospect of "a number of savings which we do not want to make".

While details about where lights could go out are not yet available, a similar switch-off to save £200,000 agreed earlier this year affected 33 roads.

Those roads were located across Norfolk and included sections of some major A roads, such as the A10 in Tottenhill, the A146 in Loddon.

During the public consultation, people said they would be worried about their safety if lights were turned off.

Others were concerned the lack of light may put people at higher risk of trips and falls.

Officials said the areas had been picked to have minimal impact on drivers, pedestrians and cyclists and that police and emergency services would be consulted to ensure changes will not increase crime.

Cash-strapped council leaders are considering switching off more street lights (Image: Bill Smith)

The council had agreed to the switch off amid rising power bills and said it would also cut carbon emissions by an annual 76 tonnes.

County Hall, which switched off lights for part of the night at other locations across Norfolk in 2010, previously said it was spending about £4m a year on street lights - and the energy crisis had doubled its costs.