At Shildon Town Council’s December meeting, councillors received Durham County Council’s proposals to remove a total of fifty lighting columns in Shildon: eight along Busty Bank and 42 along two stretches of the A6072 Shildon bypass.
Councillors added their concerns to those previously expressed by Shildon Running Club, saying in the draft minutes of the meeting that there were fears about “personal safety, and the perception of personal safety” along Busty Bank.
“The footway is frequently used by a significant number of the general public as a walking/cycling route to and from work at the South Church Enterprise Park also as a route to Eldon and Bishop Auckland,” say the minutes.
Councillors expressed similar concerns about the removal of lights along the Shildon bypass with the minutes noting that: “Concern also be expressed on the proposed removal of lighting columns on the Shildon By-Pass (Road A6072) as this is a footpath used by members of the public and particularly the Shildon Running and Athletic Club who use the footway as part of their training regime. The removal of street lighting would be a personal safety matter to users.”
Feedback from the Town Council and Running Club will be used before a final decision is made on the removal of lights.
Having learned of the proposals to remove the lights in the Town Crier (issue 796, County Council propose to remove 50 street lights), Shildon Running Club expressed their objection to the proposals, warning that the switch off could lead to the demise of the successful club, which has produced several nationally-ranked athletes: “At least once a week we use one, or both, of the roads where the proposed lighting changes are,” they said.
“If the proposed changes are confirmed it would be too unsafe for the running club to use either route and we would be left with very limited long run opportunities that start and finish in Shildon.
“As we have several members training for springtime marathons (and have had every year) they may be forced to move to other running clubs to train with and ultimately this may jeopardise the continuation of the senior group completely.”
In an emailed response to the Running Club on behalf of Cllr Brian Stephens, Durham County Council’s Head of Technical Services, John Reed said: “I can advise that the Council’s proposal to remove the street lighting is part of the ongoing Street Lighting Energy Reduction Project which was approved by the Council’s Cabinet on 12 December 2012.”
However, he went on to say that: “The consultation on the risk assessments is still open and I can confirm that [Shildon Running Club’s]comments will be taken into account before the risk assessments are finalised and final determinations made.
“If Shildon Town Council would like to discuss the risk assessments then I will be pleased to offer them an on-site meeting with our independent Road Safety Auditor.
“If following the consultation on the risk assessment we determine that the street lights are safe to remove they may still be retained under a Service Level Agreement funded by Shildon Town Council.
“If this option is of interest to Shildon Town Council then we will be pleased to provide a quotation.”
A similar Service Level Agreement was implemented in Ferryhill and Chilton when lighting along the A167 bypass was threatened in 2015.
Ferryhill Town Council agreed to pay Durham County Council £3,324 per annum in order to keep 37 columns switched on along local stretches of the bypass after the County Council declared it would no longer pay for them from the county budget.
The ten-year service level agreement meant that the County Council will continue to maintain the lights for the next ten years.
In order to finance the agreement, Ferryhill Town Council said it would fund the agreement by raising the annual Council Tax by £1 per annum for the lower bands and £1.50 for the highest band.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
