People should take responsibility for own safety, says Torbay

Improving street lights could take years

As Torbay Council works up a plan to bring its street lights up to spec, it has claimed that individuals, regardless of whether they are male or female, are responsible for protecting their own safety and security – and that street lighting, whilst helping prevent crime, doesn’t detract from that personal responsibility.

The council’s statement follows a discussion at its ruling cabinet into the Bay’s ageing street light estate. A report says the area is ”playing catch-up” in attempts to get additional government funding to help sort out a £4 million backlog of work to fix energy inefficient and potentially dangerous street lights.

Best practice is to replace street light columns after 25 years. However, a recent report from the council found more than half of the Bay’s 10,000 columns are years older than that. The council is worried the old lights could injure people or damage vehicles and that it could be held liable.

At the same time, almost 2,500 of 15,800 of the Bay’s lights are switched off for at least some of the night because they are eating into the council’s budget by using old and energy-inefficient bulbs.

As a result, the council’s cabinet has now agreed to increase efforts to address the problem by looking for funding opportunities from central government. Members blamed mismanagement by past administrations and years of government austerity for the backlog.

Council leader Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat, Barton with Watcombe) said it was “clearly a step in the right direction….[although] there’s an awful long way to make up for the years of austerity that the local authority and community in Torbay have suffered.”

Councillor Mike Morey (Independent Group, Furzeham with Summercombe) cabinet member for infrastructure, environment and culture said: “The highway street lighting asset in Torbay has suffered from under-investment for many many years now and, of course, over previous administrations. We are playing catch-up.”

Torbay Council replaced 210 old street lighting columns in the last financial year and expects at least another 200 to be replaced by the end of March 2022. However, even then, almost 2,000 columns will still be over a decade past their recommend replacement date and a further 5,000 over five years past that usual lifespan. It thought renewing 4,000 of the 7,000 oldest columns would cost around £4 million. If the current rate of replacement continues, it will take 20 years to bring the columns up to scratch.

The street lighting report was launched following the Lib Dem-Independent coalition council’s decision to explore issues around safety after the murder of 33-year Sarah Everard in London in March.  Last week another woman, 28-year-old primary school teacher, Sabina Nessa, was also murdered in the capital.

However, an equalities assessment in the report suggets street lighting has no difference in its impact on men and women in Torbay.

Asked why this was the case given the work was carried out following concerns surrounding the dangers faced by women, a spokesperson for Torbay Council said: “We know that our local communities feel that street lighting, as well as lighting in parks and open spaces, can assist in the prevention of crime including theft, vandalism and anti-social behaviour. 

“Street lighting does not however take away responsibility of any individual, regardless of gender, for protecting their own safety and security.”

At cabinet councillor Cordelia Law (Liberal Democrat, Tormohun) added: “It’s important to say this isn’t just for women, it’s important to stress that anyone can benefit: men, women, young, old – we all need to see where we’re going.”

Cllr Darling agreed: “The reality is that the people who are most likely to be attacked at night time walking home after a night out are actually young men.

“While Sarah Everard is rightly highlighted here, the issues around safety for women and cultures around women is a core problem.”

When asked after the meeting where he had sourced the statistics about young men being attacked more than anyone else, Cllr Darling referred to the crime survey for England and Wales for the year ending March 2020, collated by the Office for National Statistics, which found men were more likely to be the victims of all types of violent crime than women, apart from incidences of domestic violence. Cllr Darling said his comments also arose from him worrying about his sons.