A councillor is considering paying for street lights out of his own budget amid council cuts.
Labour-run Leeds City Council has started to turn off a small number of street lights between midnight and 5.30am.
But Councillor Paul Wadsworth (Con, Guiseley and Rawdon) feels so strongly about the proposed changes for his area that his is looking at paying for three lights in his constituency out of his own council allocation for ward projects.
He said: “I am fundamentally opposed to these proposals. As well as encouraging burglars and other miscreants, I think that the amount of money saved per lamp doesn’t justify switching the lights off.”
The Council hopes the city-wide scheme will save £1.3 million over the next ten years. When the scheme is compete 8,000 of the city’s 92,000 street lights will be switched off between midnight and 5.30am.
Its proposals for Guiseley and Rawdon would involve the switch-off of a small number of lights on Bradford Road, Hollins Hill, New Road, and Park Road.
Coun Wadsworth said: “The savings for the Guiseley and Rawdon ward are minimal – £770 a year – while the potential impact on local people is huge.”