Brighton: Council U-turn on park lighting after children felt unsafe

Students and parents from Hove Park School, Cardinal Newman school in Hove and Varndean in Brighton gathered in Hove Park last month to show how dark the area can be after school by using their phone torches to illuminate it.

At the time Brighton and Hove City Council said it had "no plans" to install more lighting.

Just two weeks later it announced its plans to install more lighting in the Level, which were met with backlash.

In a statement on April 11, a spokesman for the council said: “As a general policy we are not putting more lighting in parks.

“This is because of the need to keep parks dark for wildlife and also the cost of installing and maintaining it on an ongoing basis.

“But we have to balance a range of factors and working to tackle graffiti and vandalism is a priority for us.

“The Level is a small park surrounded by street lighting. So the additional impact on wildlife of extra lighting is likely to be minimal as it is already a relatively light park.”

Now the council has done a U-turn on the decision not to put more lighting in Hove and Preston parks, pledging to work with groups who have raised concerns about safety.

• READ MORE: Children say lighting in Hove Park needs to improve 

A Green Party spokeswoman said: “We are keen to address the concerns raised through improved lighting while also safeguarding biodiversity.

“Our manifesto pledges to investigate new funding opportunities to make the city safer by providing new lighting opportunities and CCTV where we can. As part of this, Greens commit to reviewing the lighting in Hove and Preston parks, as we have for places like Valley Gardens and the Level already during our time leading the council

“We wish to consider the needs of protecting biodiversity, costs and the safety of pedestrians to determine the right solution. Therefore at this point in time we do not want to prejudice what the exact model of street lighting should be.”

The campaign last month saw children gather in Hove Park (Image: Citizens UK)

Paris Palmano, a spokesman for the campaign to introduce lighting in Hove Park and Preston Park, said: “The leader of the council has rowed back slightly from the council's previous position of not improving lighting in parks.

“He agreed to work with us to find a lighting solution that meets the needs of school children getting home from school without fear that is also conscious of the impacts on biodiversity.

“We support this approach wholeheartedly as we were never arguing for all night floodlighting for example. We want limited but adequate lighting that will be on at specific times in the winter months so children leaving school can get home safely without having to walk in darkness.

“Young people have shared their feelings of unsafety and our alliance is feeling positive about the constructive joint approach that is being developed with the council.”