FOOTWAY lights will remain switched-off in Salford Priors parish until at least April, councillors have decided.

The trial blackout of half the parish’s lights will not be reconsidered until the parish council’s annual parish meeting in the spring.

At a meeting last Wednesday, Councillor Tony Wolfe said there had been a “huge” number of letters in support of the scheme and it was a “significant minority” who opposed it.

Fellow councillor, Lindsay Wright, echoed his colleague.

“I have had a lot of people approach me and say ‘we’re fully supportive’,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to people in Wood Bevington and Cock Beving ton who say ‘what’s the problem? We’ve never had lights – take a torch’.

“All have without question paid full precept for the parish without any benefit of lighting.”

Councillors were in general agreement that it was important to see the trial through to its full conclusion, but Councillor Anthony Quiney called for a referendum to be held on the issue.

It was agreed, five votes to one, the trial should continue.

There was a public outcry when councillors decided in the summer to switch off about 30 footway lights without consulting residents.

Some parishioners feared the move would endanger pedestrians and encourage criminal activity, while others supported the environmental benefits of cutting light pollution and electricity use.

The parish council said a reason it agreed to the trial, which could save £1,600 annually in electricity and maintenance bills, was because of concerns over the condition of wooden poles supporting some of the lights.

The cost of replacing them all would reach £31,000 – nearly three quarters of the parish precept.

They added all UK communities were obliged to cut electricity usage by a quarter in the next five years in order for National Grid to ensure supply is maintained.

On Thursday, Bidford parish councillors decided against plans to switch off street lights from midnight.

Clerk Elisabeth Uggerlose said although the scheme would have saved about £3,000 in electricity bills, the cost to install new photocells would have been more than £5,000, which councillors felt was not “economically feasible”.

She added some of the lights were owned by Warwickshire County Council which, if the switch-off had gone ahead, would have left parts of the parish lit throughout the night while others were in darkness.