Northallerton Streetlight Petition
A petition calling for more street lighting, CCTV and police patrols at a park in Northallerton has reached more than 500 signatures in two days.
A petition calling for more street lighting, CCTV and police patrols at a park in Northallerton has reached more than 500 signatures in two days.
It’s as North Yorkshire police investigate a serious sexual assault that occurred at Bullamoor Park in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The victim, who is in his 20s, was attacked by two men who later made off in an unknown direction after it’s believed they were disturbed by the sound of a loud bang sometime between 2am – 4am.
The investigation is still ongoing and police are appealing for witnesses.
It’s caused concern among the community there who claim the area has become extremely dark since North Yorkshire County Council and Hambleton District Council decided to switch off some street lights around the park between 12am and 5am.
It’s in line with North Yorkshire County Council energy saving scheme. It led to a decision to make 60% of street lights in the region part time to save £400,000 a year.
They say street crime has actually dropped since the scheme was rolled out early last year - but it's still under review.
Liam Harris is a postman from the area who set up the petition calling for better safety measures in and around Bullamoor Park. He said:
“It needs lighting up at night; it really is dark once the sun goes down. It’s an area that a lot of people use to get to work or to get home from work. It shouldn’t be an out of bounds zone where people should have to walk around in the night time in order to get where they’re going.
“When you do have areas that people use quite a lot and at night and you’re then going to turn the lights off and them areas could become a dangerous area to go then it’s just not worth the money that they’re saving I don’t think.
“People come to Northallerton to raise families. This is what the town’s known for. It’s a market town it’s supposed to be somewhere that you feel safe and where you feel like you can have a family and it can be safe for them to go wherever they want. These sorts of things don’t exactly fill you full of confidence.”
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire County Council said:
“The energy saving scheme is done in consultation with North Yorkshire Police, and if the police raise any concerns about public safety or road safety, we reflect that when deciding which lights go on and which ones go off.
“Overall, there has been a reduction in street crime since the energy saving programme was introduced, so the evidence seems to be that street lighting times do not have a detrimental impact on crime.”
Hambleton District Council’s Director of Support Services and Deputy Chief Executive, Dr Justin Ives said:
“Hambleton District Council is part of the Part Night Lighting Scheme led by North Yorkshire County Council. Prior to the commencement of the Scheme, Hambleton consulted with North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire County Council and Community Safety and as a result of this consultation it was agreed that all the Hambleton District Council lights in Bullamoor Park would remain on - all night.
“Since the scheme started there has been no reported increase in crime in the area, however as with all new initiatives we will review the position periodically.
“The council has also invested heavily in CCTV in Northallerton and there are a number of cameras in the vicinity of Bullamoor Park which have provided a line of enquiry in regards to the recent incident that would otherwise not have been available. We will work with the Police to consider changes to CCTV in this area if when all the facts are gathered a change is required.”
Anyone who can help with the police investigating the incident on Tuesday morning should contact North Yorkshire Police straight away: dial 101, select option 2 and ask for Northallerton CID.
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
Please quote reference number 12150026480 when passing information about this incident.