Dear Syd
So much for our County Councillors saying they believe that Aycliffe can be a focus for the future of County Durham and you saying “and it’s about time”. My thoughts are, DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH. At the same time as considering removing 26 street lights on Middridge Lane between Aycliffe and Thickley saving £7,600 p.a. they are contemplating holding yet another FOUR DAY Lumiere event in Durham City in 2017 at a cost of £600,000 pounds. This cost probably does not cover the cost of clearing up the streets during and after the event as they conveniently did not include that £180,000 cost when stating their contribution to the event last year. This huge expense, which granted benefits businesses in Durham City, would pay for keeping 2,000 street lights working for A YEAR throughout the County plus another 545 lights if the clean up has not been included in the £600,000 sum. Not for the first time do I question their priorities when it comes to spending Council Tax payers’ money.
When all comes to all it would appear from information from DCC that they had not considered cheaper options for street lighting when it came to long term savings as when asked if they had considered LED replacement rather than removing the lights they said that they do not hold recorded information on that.
Granted the initial outlay for LED bulbs is expensive but in the long term they are more than worth the expense as they give out a better light for a much lower wattage, last for well over 20 years, and are much better for the environment. Had they used LED lighting for the streets round Aycliffe older residents would not be worried about venturing out at night in the dark. If they were used as part of the renewal/maintenance programme the initial outlay would not be as great.
Having invested in LED bulbs in our home we are well aware of the benefits, much improved lighting and a significant reduction in our winter energy bill. The long term savings for the County as a whole would therefor surely more than offset the initial expenditure.
It would seem that since Durham City lost out on the City for Culture bid some years ago DCC are throwing money at the town as if to prove a point! Granted the Fire and Ice week in the city last year did not receive an upfront donation from the taxpayer however, the majority of the funding came from the allowances paid to the local County Councillors for spending in their area, so actually the taxpayer did pay towards yet another event in Durham City. I can’t see Aycliffe being a focus for anything at all when it comes to the County Council, let us hope I am proved wrong!
Andrea Bergg