Residents in the dark over new streetlights

The Department of Regional Development’s Transport NI has been installing the new LED lighting over recent months and say it is more efficient than the previous lights.

However, local residents feel the new lights aren’t as bright as the old ones and many, particular women, say they feel less secure.

The new lights give off a more directed white light than the older yellow versions and a spokesperson for TransportNI said the new lights has a much longer lifespan than conventional lighting, with the potential to reduce maintenance costs.

A spokesperson for Transport NI said: “The replacement of the existing street lighting lanterns with white light source LED units will help improve visual clarity and provide considerable savings in energy and maintenance costs, whilst at the same time retaining the lighting levels on the adopted road and footways in accordance with the current British Standards.”

Lisburn Councillor Alexander Redpath said he had spoken to local residents who were concerned that the new lights made the area darker and expressed fears that there could be the potential for increased anti-social behaviour.

“I have been contacted by a number of residents about the low light quality from street lights in Ballymacoss,” said Mr Redpath.

“A number of female residents have expressed fears about walking in the area at night as a direct result of the poor light qualify.

“I understand that Transport NI recently changed the lights from conventional lighting to LED lighting in an attempt to save energy. This is a laudable objective but should not come ahead of providing fit for purpose lighting for residents.

“I call upon Transport NI to inspect the lighting and determine whether anything can be done in the short term to improve light quality.”