Controversial plans to switch off some street lights in St Albans at night – part of a wider scheme being rolled out across Hertfordshire by the Conservative-run County Council – will go on display at the District Council following intervention by our local Lib Dem councillors.

Street maps showing the lights set to be switched off in the City will also be available for the public to view at the Liberal Democrat office (9 Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RR – above the Kashu Restaurant) on Saturday 18th February from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m., when a County Councillor will be on hand to answer questions and listen to residents’ views. The period to receive feedback has also been extended, thanks to Lib Dem pressure, to allow more residents to be consulted.

The plans have been put on the web, too: see www.stalbanslibdems.org.uk/partnightlighting.

Allan Witherick, Lib Dem County Councillor for St Albans North, said: “We have heard from a number of local residents who are unsure about this scheme, and wanted to make sure we did everything to address people’s concerns and feed them back to the County Council.

“When we were finally given the plans by the Council’s officers towards the end of last week, we thought it would be useful to put them on display, so that people could stop by after the Market if they wanted to. After we put the plans online on Friday, some people stopped by this Saturday, so we want to make sure that as many people as possible can come to next week’s viewing.”

Michael Green, chair of the City Forum, which discussed consultation arrangements for the street lighting proposals at its most recent meeting on Tuesday 7th February, added: “Councillors expressed concern that insufficient time or opportunity was being given to local residents to voice their opinion on the lights that will be switched off. The District Council has agreed to the Forum’s request to display relevant maps in the council offices, in principle – we are still awaiting details – but this initiative from the Liberal Democrats will provide another opportunity for people to view the plans and will allow them to provide feedback directly to the county councillor present.”