Residents in Ashby and across the county can now have their say on plans to dim street lights earlier in the day.

Leicestershire County Council launched a consultation this week on its proposal to cut lighting levels to 30 per cent from 8pm each night.

The cash-strapped authority needs to save more than £500,000 in the street lighting department over the next four years, a recent report revealed.

Considering the possible option for achieving this, the council's cabinet agreed last month that dimming most of the lights earlier carries the least risks while allowing the savings to be made.

Currently, many residential areas are lit at 50 per cent brightness between 8pm and 10pm. However, they, and then drop to 30 per cent.

The authority is now getting residents involved, seeking their opinions on the plan and asking them where they feel there should be exceptions.

It has also said it will be working closely with the emergency services as the scheme takes shape.

Dimming the lights earlier is not without its concerns. The report submitted to the council's cabinet revealed fears around an increase in traffic accidents and people injuring themselves through slips and falls.

There are also worries that dimming the lights might lead to some people – the disabled, women, LGBT+ and the elderly – becoming more isolated as they could feel less safe being out and about at night if the area is not as well-lit because of a perception that crime and anti-social behaviour could increase, the report explained.

The consultation, which will run until Thursday, August 3, is a chance to explore the "risks, mitigations and any exemptions to the proposal", the authority has previously said.

Some roundabouts and major junctions could be excluded from the new lighting regime to reduce any dangers. The council will be seeking opinions on the scheme from equalities groups as well.

Councillor Ozzy O'Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "I would encourage people to respond to the questionnaire.

"We're also going to work closely with the emergency services so that light levels also reflect the characteristics of a particular area."

Residents are also being encouraged to go out after 10pm so they can get a good idea of what the lower level looks like.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting on Friday, June 23, Coun O'Shea said: "I have been on streets where the 30 per cent is actually in at the present time and I must be honest with you, I don't see a lot of difference at all, if any.

"We're doing the right thing here," he added. "We're trying to save money because we're a lower funded council.

"We've been put in this position by the Government. We don't want to cut anything in this council."

Coun O'Shea, who represents Groby and Ratby, also offered reassurance that, if problems did arise in areas, those lights could always be turned back up.

He said: "We work with the police, we work with the emergency services.

"When we need to have the lights put on fully because we have crime in the area, with do that in connection with the police. We did that in Groby when we had problems there in March."

Other options considered were switching off all lights between midnight and 5.30am, and only providing street lighting for half of the year – between September and March.

However, these are felt to be more risky.

The consultation can be found on the Leicestershire County Council website.