Southampton City Council has seen a drop in spending on street lighting of 1% in real terms.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) data has shown that in the year 2019-20, the council spent £5.2m. Whilst they spent the same amount in 2018-19, when adjusted for inflation this represents a fall of around 1% from 2018-19 to 2019-20.
The City Council told the Daily Echo:
The minor decrease in our street lighting budget for 2019/20 can be accounted for via fluctuating annual costs, including changes to energy pricing and the alteration of our streetlight inventory to LED lamps, which cost less to run and are more energy-efficient.
However, the decline in spending will not and has not seen a decline in actual street lighting, the council added.
Measures are being taken to improve public safety in the community, with additional CCTV and improved lighting in Hogland’s Park.
