A MULTI-MILLION pound lighting scheme is leaving Darlington residents in the dark, according to a leading councillor.

Darlington Borough Council is currently upgrading street lighting in a move that could save the authority £365,000 a year on its electricity bill.

The council received more than £5m in government funding to carry out the scheme, which will take three years to complete and will involve converting 11,884 street lights to energy efficient LED lights.

On its website, the council states that the white light given off by the new street lights will make it easier to make out objects and pedestrians.

However, Cllr Heather Scott has received several complaints from constituents who say the lights have diminished visibility in her ward.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 13, she said: “The comments have been that the lights are much dimmer.

“I understand why the council has done this but these lights seem to shine down onto the ground and don’t give sufficient light to pavements and streets.

“Older people are concerned and frightened to go out at night as they cannot see.

“It is a major concern, especially with the darker nights coming in.

“In decisions around housing estates, lighting is always a major thing to consider for security reasons.

“We seem to have gone back from that and could be making older people prisoners in their own homes as they don’t want to go out at night.

“We don’t want to have to go back to the days when you would have to carry a torch with you at night.”

Councillor Andy Scott said he had not received any complaints about the new lighting scheme, with many residents from his ward welcoming the changes.

However, Cllr Nick Wallis has promised to look into the concerns raised.

He said: “We are replacing lights across the borough and we had complaints about the glare given off by the old lights and concerns about the intrusiveness.

“These new lights are greatly advantageous as far as sustainability goes.

“They may take some getting used to but we are not, as a local authority, turning whole swathes of lights off as some authorities are.

“We want people to feel safe.”

All street lights within the Borough will be converted to LED lanterns by March 2018, with inefficient lighting being converted first.