Posted on 6th Dec
Dozens of streetlights have been upgraded in parts of Newark under the Safer Streets scheme.
Older sodium lights have been replaced with LED on Bowbridge Road, Howes Court, Mill Gate, Vernon Avenue and Victoria Street thanks to recent work carried out by Via East Midlands, a company wholly-owned by Nottinghamshire County Council.
As well as helping residents feel safer, the 68 new LED lights will emit white light that gives improved colour rendering and can help with police identification and CCTV.
Nottinghamshire County Council contributed £25,000 towards these lighting improvements as part of the second phase of the Safer Streets partnership. It comes off the back of similar lighting upgrades in the Northgate and Chatham areas last year*.
As part of the wider phase two plans, the partnership of Nottinghamshire Police, Police and Crime Commissioner, Nottinghamshire County Council, Newark & Sherwood District Council and Via East Midlands will fund and deliver an additional £109,000 worth of security improvements in the town. These include free security upgrades such as free sensor lighting, window restrictors, video doorbells and in some cases WIFI and 4G security cameras to more than 100 homes.
Coun Neil Clarke, chairman of the county council’s Transport and Environment Committee, said: “This latest investment is vital as it will help residents feel safer by improving visibility on local streets.
“Our street lighting team used the latest technology to upgrade these streetlights, as part of this ongoing partnership project which we are proud to be a part of.
“LED lighting has wider benefits of course. They require much less energy than older style lighting, which is better for the environment as well as taxpayers’ pockets.”
*Nottinghamshire originally secured £550,000 from the Home Office Safer Streets fund for the first phase of crime prevention measures in Newark which were successfully delivered by the partnership.
Improvements to the Northgate and Chatham areas of Newark include Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, free security upgrades at people’s homes as well as enhanced street lighting.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry added: “We know from the feedback we received after the first phase of the project that enhanced street lighting makes a huge difference to how safe people feel. In fact, more than 60% of residents said improved levels of street lighting had made them feel safer – this is why partners continue to work hard to replicate the reassurance in other parts of the town.
“The bigger picture with all the safety measures funded by Safer Streets is that criminals will find it much more difficult to strike – and when they do, we will be in a much better position to detect their activities. This is good news for everyone.”
Inspector Charlotte Allardice, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These lighting improvements will not only aid the people of Newark but also the LED aspect will be a great benefit for officers when it comes to catching suspects on CCTV.
“It’s our job to keep making things as hard as possible for people to commit burglaries and thefts and keep the community safe by introducing new security improvements throughout the town.
“Improvements like these are vital in helping improve the safety across the community and making people feel safer when they’re out and about in the dark.”
Newark and Sherwood District Council leader Coun David Lloyd said: “By upgrading the street lighting in numerous residential areas of Newark, we hope this will provide additional reassurance to our residents and allow them to feel safer both living in their homes and travelling to and fro. This work is just one of many security measures we have already implemented and are continuing to implement across the town to make local people feel safer and to deter criminals.”
