Nottinghamshire County Council has put forward energy and cost saving proposals relating to street lighting in the county. Following the consultation period in June 2011, the final Sutton proposal has been changed from a solitary light before the crossing on Station Road, to also include the junction of Mattersey Road and Lound Low Road.
The change is due to representations by the Neighbourhood Watch and Sutton Parish Council pointing out that the 90-degree bend would be dangerous if left in total darkness. Attempts to change the lighting on other junctions within the village were rejected by NCC, as were other proposals concerning dimming of lights (we seem to have the wrong type of bulbs for dimming) rather than a total black-out.
The final situation is that the street lights of Sutton cum Lound will be switched off between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 5:30 am, with the exceptions above.
The original NCC target date for implementing this was May 2011, but it looks as though early September was the actual date. As you will probably have noticed, it gets very dark now, but the actual switch-off time seems to be somewhat erratic.
Anybody wishing to see the proposals should visit the NCC web site at: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/streetlightingchanges/