Labour county councillors are calling for a review of street lighting across Hertfordshire, following the switch-off of 1,293 more street lights in the early hours.

For more than a decade, the majority of the county's street lights have been switched off between 1am and 5am, after being dimmed from 9pm.

Last month, the council signalled that it was set to adjust a further 1,293 lights, previously kept on throughout the night.

Within two weeks, Labour councillors called for the roll-out to be paused – only to find out the change had already been implemented.

Now they are calling for a 'full' review of the county's street lighting policy – suggesting that so-called 'part night lighting' can pose safety risks for students and shift workers and is "not entirely fit for purpose".

"We remain deeply concerned about the impact on shift staff, emergency response workers, and women who depend on well-lit streets for their safety," said Labour spokesperson for highways Cllr Alistair Willoughby

"Continuing with this approach while the council is consulting on its violence against women and girls policy is not just contradictory, it fails the duty of care we owe to women.  

"The Liberal Democrat administration has the opportunity to review this inherited Conservative policy. Instead, they are choosing to implement it without question.

"We are calling for a full and holistic review, one that centres lived experience and public safety with proper community engagement."

'Part-night lighting' – which includes dimming from 9pm and switching off between 1am and 5am – was first introduced by the county council in 2012, and amended in 2015.

Since then, 75,700 of the county's lights have been switched to part-night lighting – with 40,700 remaining on throughout the night, but dimmed between 1pm and 6am.

The changes – combined with the switch to LED lighting – are estimated to have reduced energy consumption by 53%, carbon emissions by 77% and avoided energy costs of £8.8million.

And estimates have suggested that the latest changes alone, to the additional 1,293 street lights, will save the council around £14,000 a year in energy costs.

In response to the concerns raised by Cllr Willoughby, Liberal Democrat executive member for highways, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, stressed the environmental and cost benefits of 'part-night lighting'.

He said monitoring since its introduction has revealed no overall increase in crime or in 'personal injury collisions' in those areas where 'part-night lighting' operates.

In a "minimal" number of areas, he said street lights had been returned to full night lighting based on police evidence of nighttime crime or disorder. And that, he said, was in line with the council's policy.

Labour councillors have also raised concerns that the latest changes have been undertaken without review, consultation or scrutiny.

But Cllr Giles-Medhurst said the latest 1,293 lights had been "operating incorrectly" on a 'full-night light' basis and should have been changed years earlier.

He said councillors had been informed of the 'operational change' in the "spirit of openness", not because it was a change in policy.

Nevertheless, he has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the council would look at any site where safety concerns were raised.

In raising concerns about the latest lights to be switched to part-night lighting, Labour councillors have pointed to specific areas in Watford, Hatfield and Hitchin.

Labour group leader Cllr Nigel Bell highlighted a number of street lights on Printers Avenue, in Watford, which he said were close to a care home.

"This is a location where safe, well-lit pavements are absolutely essential," said Cllr Bell.

"Turning off lights in areas like this shows a lack of understanding of how these spaces are used at night. It risks the safety of vulnerable residents and those who care for them."

Meanwhile, Labour Cllr Beth Kelly points to several streets in Hatfield, where she says residents rely on well-lit streets to travel to work or university.

"These changes ignore the lived realities of those who rely on safe public spaces at all hours," said Cllr Kelly.

"We should not be making cuts to lighting just as the county council has begun a consultation on violence against women and girls. It sends the wrong message and puts people at risk."

However, Cllr Giles-Medhurst said he had not yet been made aware of the specific locations referred to by Labour councillors.