Note from the county council:

Following the Cabinet decision in November 2010 to change the county’s streetlighting policy, work to convert the first set of streetlights in the county to part-night lighting will start next week.

Work is due to start in the north of the Welwyn Hatfield district in the week commencing 6 June, with the first 500 lights being converted in the Woolmer Green and Digswell areas. The main body of the work will start in early July, converting the remainder of the lights in the Welwyn division and then moving through the borough from north to south by county electoral division. The focus will then move to Broxbourne Borough, then through Hertsmere to Watford and Three Rivers before moving on to the rest of the county. The rollout will take around 18 months, with the final conversions taking place in autumn 2012.

Most lights will be converted to part-night lighting and will no longer be lit between midnight and 6:00am. However, there will be exceptions, for example in town centres, along the main A roads and where there are traffic obstacles. We have been working closely with the police to develop the best approach for any areas with relatively higher crime rates.

Before the plans are finalised for each division, the project team will meet with the local member to discuss the plans and give them the opportunity to feed in their local knowledge.

The likely dates for members to be contacted are:

Welwyn Hatfield – June-July 2011

Broxbourne – July-August 2011

Hertsmere – August-September 2011

Watford – October 2011

Three Rivers – November-December 2011

Dacorum – Winter 2012

St Albans – Winter-Spring 2012

Stevenage – Spring 2012

North Herts – Spring-Summer 2012

East Herts – Summer 2012

We have made information on the project, and answers to a list of frequently asked questions, available on our web pages at www.hertsdirect.org/highways