THOUSANDS of street lights in Exmouth will be converted to part-night lighting over the next month as Devon County Council s on-going programme to slash costs.

THOUSANDS of street lights in Exmouth will be converted to part-night lighting over the next month as Devon County Council's on-going programme to slash costs.

Exmouth, Bideford and Northam will be the focus of the next phase of the carbon reduction policy which is expected to have saved more than 600 tonnes of CO2 and around �75,000 in electricity costs in its first six months. Over the next three years it is estimated that part-night lighting could save Devon 4,000 tonnes of CO2 and reduce its present energy bill by �450,000.

As part of the scheme, some street lights in residential areas that were previously on all-night long will be switched off between 12:30am and 5:30am, before coming on again until dawn. Main road lighting and areas of high night-time activity, such as town centres, will remain lit all night, but consideration will be given to dimming lighting where possible.

This latest phase will mean almost 7,000 street lights will have been converted to part-night lighting over the past six months.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, said: "The County Council is working hard to reduce its energy bills and emissions - just as any business and any household would. Energy consumption, carbon emissions and energy costs are expected to reduce by a third by the end of the programme, and the money saved will be re-invested in the provision of services."

Devon County Council is currently responsible for nearly 75,000 street lights, costing �2.2million in electricity and producing nearly 20,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. That accounts for around 30% of the County Council's annual emissions of almost 62,000 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of the total annual energy use of 7,300 average Devon homes or a town about the size of Honiton in East Devon.

The conversion of lighting from all-night to part-night operations will be carried out over a five year programme across the county. The County Council is working with Devon and Cornwall Police to ensure that considerations of crime, disorder and road safety in residential areas are taken into account during the decision-making process. Converting a street light part-night lighting costs between �20 and �30, but the energy savings will cover this cost within about 3 years.

For more information visit: www.devon.gov.uk/streetlighting or call 0845 155 1004.