Streetlights could be dimmed as part of a council’s strategy to tackle climate change.

Hertfordshire County Council says it is considering several options to help reduce the climate impact of street lighting by varying the brightness and operating hours of lights.

The council says that the highways teams plan to review the timings of the street lighting in the county - and whether there could be further dimming.

Most of Hertfordshire’s streetlights have been changed to LED lights with a central control system, which makes it possible to dim lights and modify timing in specific areas, the council said.

The council says this could “potentially reduce both costs and carbon emissions”.  

Phil Bibby, Cabinet Member for Highways and Environment, said: “We want to reduce the climate impact of our street lighting, and the technical work done by our engineers shows that there are several ways we could do this.

“It’s important that we look at these options in the round, which is why we’ll be considering this as part of the overall Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy, rather than making changes straight away.”

A full review of streetlighting options will be undertaken next year, subject to funding being available.