A programme to convert 3,009 streetlights in Thanet to LED all-night lighting will begin in April.
Kent County Council began a conversion programme of 118,000 street lights to energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology in March 2016.
The scheme, which began a new roll-out this January, is due for completion in May 2019 but last year hit a funding problem because of the high number of concrete column lights, particularly on the isle, that needed replacing.
In Thanet there are 9,931 street lights. Between December 2016 and May 2017 6,922 were converted to the new system.
But 3,009 remained unconverted – and so unlit at night – with 2,500 of these being concrete column lights and the remainder being ornate street lights. All the lights will now be converted in this second phase of the scheme.
Some £1.9 million will be dedicated to replacing Thanet’s stone column posts out of KCCs agreed budget of £794.7million.
Made vulnerable to attack by lack of lighting
The news has been welcomed by Lillian Constantine, of Ramsgate, who was attacked on an unlit Ramsgate seafront road in September 2016.
Lillian, then 18, had spent the evening with friends on Ramsgate seafront and was heading home along Sion Hill when restaurant worker Ashraf Miah followed her. He grabbed her and sexually assaulted her despite her desperate fight back.
But Lillian, who had been using her phone to try and light her route home because the streetlights had been turned off, managed to record the attempted rape.
Her footage was instrumental in helping police identify and Miah to an address in London and to convict him in court.
He was sentenced to 13-and-a-half-years at Canterbury Crown Court in April 2017 and will be deported at the end of that term.
Lillian, now 20, says she believes “100%” that the attack was made possible due to the lights being turned off in a money-saving bid by the county council.
She said: “Criminals and predators see the dark as an opportunity to strike. It creates vulnerability.
“I had been using my phone as a light because I didn’t feel safe.”
‘Progress’
She added: “I am glad the lights will now be converted, it’s progress. It would be good to get them done as fast as possible, before the Summer when lots of young people are going out, especially in places like Ramsgate.
“Thanet has the highest number of recorded sex crimes in the south east so starting here will hopefully help to reduce those crimes.”
Lillian, who waived her right to anonymity, has not let the attack define her life.
Despite the horrendous aftermath which involved attending a sexual assault referral clinic for swabs and nail clippings and then enduring dozens of blood tests, a pregnancy test and HIV prevention medication that left her bedbound for a month, the student spoke out in a bid to highlight both the lighting issue and the trauma of sexual attack.
She is now due to begin a film-making course at the Manchester School of Art.
Lillian’s mum, county councillor Karen Constantine, has campaigned for the conversion to be fast-tracked since the attack on her daughter.
She again raised the question of Thanet’s light conversion during a KCC budget meeting last month, stipulating it was essential for public safety.
Cabinet member for highways, Cllr Mike Whiting, confirmed at the meeting that the £2,6million needed for the scheme is within council coffers.
She said: “After many months of applying pressure and asking questions at every opportunity I’m pleased that not only has the money been found but that work will start next month. This was the question I put to Mike Whiting at the last KCC meeting.
“It’s imperative that the feeling of public safety is put first. Many many people have contacted me about their fears of being out in the dark. It’s excellent news that this battle is over.
“I’m sorry people, including my own daughter, have suffered. Thankfully this is behind her.”
Thanet Tory county councillor Paul Messenger said: “Phase 2 budget monies have now come forward because of our (KCC) recently agreed budget. This is good news for Thanet as all the concrete posts will now be converted to LED. It is unfortunate that the entire Labour Group at KCC voted against this budget.”
The programme
Thanet is the first area in the second phase programme with conversions beginning next month (April). Ashford will also have light conversions from April while Shepway is programmed for August.
The streetlight project, when completed, will save Kent taxpayers up to £5.2 million each year through a reduction in energy costs.
The £40 million project is partly funded by a £22 million interest-free loan from SALIX, a government organisation, funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. It will pay for itself within eight years.
KCC started carrying out a county-wide scheme in 2013 to switch off 70,000 streetlights between midnight and 5.30am to save £1 million a year, cut carbon emissions by 5,000 tonnes annually and reduce light pollution.
The LED project, and return to night lighting, followed on the heels of a Kent-wide call started by Gravesham campaigner Tina Brooker. There was also a sustained campaign in Thanet headed by Broadstairs residents and Labour councillors, including Cllr Matterface, which produced a Thanet-wide petition against the switch off decision.
Every Thanet street with lights due to be converted (KCC has been asked to check for updates which we will add)
Minster Road |
The Street |
Park Lane |
Minster Road |
George V Avenue |
Hartsdown Road |
Shottendane Road |
Star Lane |
Enterprise Road |
Tivoli Road |
Addiscombe Road |
Park Crescent Road |
Park Road |
Laleham Road |
Millmead Road |
Footpath From Grosvenor Hill |
Union Crescent |
Trinity Square |
Zion Place |
Addington Street |
Booth Place |
Bath Road |
Dane Hill |
Cliff Terrace |
Ethelbert Crescent |
Ethelbert Terrace |
Queens Parade |
Wilderness Hill |
Eastern Esplanade |
Palm Bay Avenue |
Princess Margaret Avenue |
Queen Elizabeth Avenue |
Northumberland Avenue |
Northdown Road |
Northdown Park Road |
Foreland Avenue |
George Hill Road |
Green Lane |
Northdown Hill |
George Hill Road |
Whiteness Road |
Convent Road |
Beacon Road |
Westover Road |
Albion Road |
Bairds Hill |
St Peters Park Road |
Vicarage Street |
Church Street |
Pysons Road |
Northwood Road |
Nelson Place |
North Foreland Hill |
Stone Road |
North Foreland Road |
Callis Court Road |
Gladstone Road |
Osborne Road |
Queens Gardens |
York Street |
West Cliff Avenue |
Dumpton Park Drive |
Montefiore Avenue |
Thanet Road |
Victoria Road |
Bellevue Road |
Plains Of Waterloo |
King Street |
Madeira Walk |
Broad Street |
Hardres Street |
Chatham Street |
High Street |
Royal Parade |
Paragon |
West Cliff Road |
St Augustines Road |
Grange Road |
Ellington Place |
Wilfred Road |
Princes Road |
Station Approach Road |
Bush Avenue |
St Johns Crescent |
Melbourne Avenue |
St Johns Avenue |
Stirling Way |
Northwood Road |
Allenby Road |
Whitehall Road |
London Road |
Royal Harbour Approach |
Foads Hill |
Foads Lane |
Cottington Road |
Manston Road |
Manston Road |
Church Street |
Tothill Street |
Willetts Hill |
Monkton Street |
Monkton Road |
Ramsgate Road |
Margate Hill |
Shottendane Road |
Manston Road |
Nash Road |
Beatrice Road |
College Road |
Ramsgate Road |
Queens Avenue |
High Street |
St Peters Road |
Belgrave Road |
Eaton Road |
Grosvenor Gardens |
Churchfields |
Hawley Street |
Marine Drive |
The Parade |
Fort Hill |
Fort Crescent |
St Peters Road |
Dane Court Road |
Rumfields Road |
Bromstone Road |
Fairfield Road |
Broadstairs Road |
Westwood Road |
High Street |
Queens Road |
Ramsgate Road |
Dumpton Park Drive |
Hereson Road |
Boundary Road |
High Street |
Nethercourt Hill |
Park Road |
Newington Road |
Margate Road |
Haine Road |
Manston Road |
New Haine Road |
Canterbury Road East |
Sandwich Road |
Ebbsfleet Lane |
Hengist Way |
Canterbury Road West |
Canterbury Road |
Foxborough Lane |
Bedlam Court Lane |
Un-Named Road From Minster Road |
Minster Road |
Mount Pleasant |
Monkton Roundabout |
Sevenscore Roundabout |
Richborough Way |
Ebbsfleet Roundabout |
Jutes Lane |
The Centre |
Princes Street |
Mill Lane |
Herbert Place |
Wings Close |
Nelson Place |
Harbour Street |
Chapel Place |
Albion Street |
John Street |
Charlotte Street |
York Street |
Staffordshire Street |
Turner Street |
King Street |
Kings Place |
Harbour Parade |
Abbots Hill |
Broad Street |
Harbour Street |
York Street |
Leopold Street |
Queen Street |
Colemans Yard |
High Street |
George Street |
Cavendish Street |
Meeting Street |
Queens Court |
The Square |
Marine Gardens |
Queen Street |
Cecil Square |
Cecil Street |
Hawley Street |
Hawley Square |
Churchfield Place |
Churchfields |
High Street |
The Broadway |
High Street |
High Street |
Beach Street |
Queen Street |
Broad Street |
Victoria Road |
Queen Street |
King Street |
Albert Terrace |
Hawley Square |
Addington Square |
New Cross Street |
New Street |
Avondale Place |
Newbys Place |
Lombard Street |
Market Street |
Market Place |
Duke Street |
Love Lane |
Broad Street |
King Street |
Fort Road |
Mansion Street |
Nightingale Place |
Dalby Road |
Dalby Square |
Godwin Road |
Offley Close |
Victoria Parade |
Merrivale Heights |
Upton Grange |
Trinity Square |
Newmans Close |
Victoria Road |
Fairfield Park |
Old Kingsdown Close |
Devonshire Terrace |
Tunis Row |
Winterstoke Undercliff |
Victoria Parade |
Cycle Track From Victoria Parade |
Marina Road |
La Belle Alliance Square |
Madeira Walk |
Wellington Crescent |
Albion Place |
Kent Place |
Prince Edward Promenade |
Guildford Lawn |
Effingham Street |
Sion Hill |
James Street |
Addington Street |
Ivy Lane |
Vale Square |
Homestead Village |
Chapman Fields |
Highlands Glade |
Vicarage Garden |
Cheney Road |
High Street |
Station Road |
Watchester Lane |