People can feel safer walking the streets at night as investment in brighter street lighting helps prevent criminals from hiding in the shadows.
Around 68 streetlights have been upgraded in parts of Newark under the Safer Streets scheme.
The LED lights are brighter than the old sodium bulbs – allowing people to see more clearly but also putting the spotlight firmly on suspects and making them easier to identify when caught on CCTV.
The streets where the upgrade has taken place are Bowbridge Road, Howes Court, Mill Gate, Vernon Avenue and Victoria Street.
Thanks to the work carried out by Via East Midlands, a company owned by Nottinghamshire County Council, the LED lighting is now set to be switched on.
It comes as Nottinghamshire County Council contributed £25,000 towards lighting improvements as part of the second phase of the Safer Streets partnership.
Similar lighting improvements and upgrades have also been made in the Northgate and Chatham areas last year.
This is all thanks to the Safer Streets project which aims to help police and crime commissioners, local authorities and their partners to secure extra resources and tools to prevent street crime, especially burglaries, robberies and vehicle crimes.
Inspector Charlotte Allardice, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These lighting improvements will not only aid the people of Newark but also the LED aspect will be a great benefit for officers when it comes to catching suspects on CCTV.
“It’s our job to keep making things as hard as possible for people to commit burglaries and thefts and keep the community safe by introducing new security improvements throughout the town.
“Improvements like these are vital in helping improve the safety across the community and making people feel safer when they’re out and about in the dark.”
As part of the phase two plans, the partnership between Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire County Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council and Via East Midlands, will fund and deliver an additional £109,000 worth of security improvements in the town.
These include free security upgrades such as free sensor lighting, window restrictors, video doorbells and in some cases WIFI and 4G security cameras to more than 100 homes.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, said: “We know from the feedback we received after the first phase of the project that enhanced street lighting makes a huge difference to how safe people feel.
“In fact, more than 60% of residents said improved levels of street lighting had made them feel safer – this is why partners continue to work hard to replicate the reassurance in other parts of the town.
“The bigger picture with all the safety measures funded by Safer Streets is that criminals will find it much more difficult to strike – and when they do, we will be in a much better position to detect their activities. This is good news for everyone.”
Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, chairman of the county council’s transport and environment committee, said: “This latest investment is vital as it will help residents feel safer by improving visibility on local streets.
“Our street lighting team used the latest technology to upgrade these streetlights, as part of this ongoing partnership project which we are proud to be a part of.
“LED lighting has wider benefits of course. They require much less energy than older style lighting, which is better for the environment as well as taxpayers’ pockets.”
