Issue - meetings

To receive and consider any petitions for which notice has been provided under Standing Order 66.

Members are asked to note that the following petition is due to be presented at the meeting:

(a)    Lighting at Tiverton Green.

The supporting details on the petition have been attached, for reference.

(Members are asked to note this petition was approved for presentation following the original agenda having been published)

Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the Council) welcomed Alison Durant (as lead petitioner) to the meeting, who he advised was attending to present a petition regarding Lighting at Tiverton Green.

In thanking the Leader of the Council for the opportunity to present the petition, Alison Durant explained that Tiverton Green was a green space in the Queens Park area, directly south of Queens Park Community School, which included a range of outdoor leisure facilities as well as a children’s play area and was a well-used space providing a convenient access route for residents in the neighbourhood and for pupils attending the local school.

In outlining the concerns being raised within the petition, Alison Durant advised that whilst the space was accessible at all hours it was unlit, meaning access was in complete darkness during the winter months.  In highlighting her personal experience, members were advised that this had led to concerns being raised by parents, children and the local community in relation to safety by those seeking to use the space once daylight faded, with specific examples provided in relation to the impact on school pupils using the space as a route home after school.  As a result of the concerns highlighted and following discussion with Councillor Nerva (as a local ward councillor) she had therefore started the petition seeking the installation of lighting on paths across the Green.  This had resulted in a total of 548 signatures being obtained in support demonstrating what she felt to be the strong desire across the local community for the lighting issue to be addressed.

In outlining the basis for the support identified, Alison Durant highlighted that lighting made people feel safe which would subsequently result in more people using the Green and lead, as a wider benefit, to improvements in the health and wellbeing of the community.  It was also pointed out that a number of the pathways across the Green did not benefit from adjacent street lighting.

Whilst advocating for improved lighting, however, the petitioners had also recognised the associated cost implications as well as the need to consider the impact of lighting on the surrounding ecology and wildlife.  As a result, it was pointed out that the petitioners had been working with a lighting consultant who had identified the potential for a lighting scheme that, whilst cost effective, would also be sympathetic to the ecology and wildlife of the surrounding Green, on which they were keen to continue working with the Council in order to explore available options.

In summarising, Alison Durant advised members that the petitioners were therefore seeking to advocate for the provision of suitable, considerate lighting that would benefit the local community as well as school pupils in being able to safely access and use the Green after dark in a way that was also cost effective and appropriate for the ecology of the area. In welcoming the discussions already undertaken with councillors and Council officers, it was also suggested that the implementation of lighting in  ...  view the full decision text for item 5.