Householders in Orkney have received letters from Orkney Islands Council to inform them that streetlights, provided by OIC for over 50 years, will no longer be replaced if they are faulty or due for renewal, and that a process of removal will be going ahead. The residents live in what the council now terms as ‘private lanes’.

It appears that there has been no prior consultation with residents before this decision was taken, with costs being given as the reasoning behind it.

The council has no legal obligation to provide lighting on public roads, as can be seen from the current list. Readers will note that there are varying lengths and classes of roads, many of which have no street lighting. That’s to be expected in rural areas, but not in the higher population density towns like Kirkwall and Stromness, where it has come as a shock.

In towns and built up areas the council, and councillors, have a duty of care to ensure that citizens of all ages can feel, and be safe during the hours of darkness. The non-replacement and removal of streetlights where they have existed for decades in these built up areas is of great concern.

The Orkney News emailed OIC on Monday, 7 April, to get some answers to questions we had been asked by our readers concerned about the actions of the council in this cost cutting measure.

The Orkney News wanted to know and be provided with the following:

• A copy of the OIC Streetlight Policy as referred to the Roads Management and Maintenance Plan. If no policy has yet been published, the date it will be.
• A list of the private lanes where the streetlighting will be removed and not replaced.
• Any links to consultations or evidence gathered from local residents about this new policy undertaken by the council before making this decision .

The Orkney News was also interested in the reasons for the change, and the cost to remove as against the cost to replace. As some of the lights are attached to listed buildings, the council will have to ensure that no damage is done to the buildings and that any damage on removal is repaired.

No reply has been received as we go to publication. The next stage will be to put in a Freedom of Information Request.

It was notable that during lockdown more people in the built up areas could be seen out walking. The health and wellbeing benefits of walking, even just for half an hour a day are well documented. OIC itself acknowledges this.

The report ‘Your Kirkwall’, the Kirkwall Urban Design Framework (KUDF), was endorsed by Orkney’s councillors following extensive consultations with the public. It was published in 2018 to ‘ guide development and change in the town over the next 20-year period’.

The above image taken from the document highlights the importance of Better Streets ‘Streets should be well lit’ , and

Walkable Town, ‘Streets should offer a pleasant and high quality walking experience for pedestrians of all ages and capabilities. Streets should be designed to be inclusive and encourage walking as much as possible.’

Another document, The Roads Management Plan 2023 – 2028, includes appendix 3 Footpaths, and appendix 5 Streetlights. The Plan states that there will be a Streetlighting Policy but as yet The Orkney News hasn’t been able to find that. The decision to remove/not replace streetlights in ‘private lanes’ was not consulted on and has taken place without a Streetlighting Policy being published. The decision also goes against the spirit and intent of ‘Your Kirkwall, Urban Design Framework’, where streetlighting, safer streets, and walking was seen to be so important.

A list of what the council deems to be a ‘private lane’ and the evidence for the legal basis of this definition needs to be produced. Both Kirkwall and Stromness grew up clustered around their harbours. There are many little lanes and patches of land that have evolved between historic buildings. The lanes are part of the charm that attracts so many visitors to wander around both towns exploring their history.

The decision to remove streetlighting where it has been in place for decades from ‘private lanes’ is a cost cutting exercise with little to no thought given to the implications for public safety either through trips and falls, or personal safety.

The above shows an extract from Appendix 5 of the Roads Maintenance and Management Plan. Highlighted are the two wall lights which were attached to the walls of listed buildings in St Catherine’s Place, but now removed, under the new actions undertaken by OIC.

Those areas are now plunged into darkness at night. There are fewer and fewer of Kirkwall’s historic buildings remaining, as they once were when it was a major port and bustling town in the 18th and 19th centuries. These are buildings we should be proud of still having – retaining the last vestiges of the character of a town which dates back to Medieval times.

Below are documents referred to in this article:

Orkney Islands Council List of Public Roads

The Orkney News will publish the results of our Freedom of Information Request once that is made available to us.

Fiona Grahame