Improve Street Lighting in South Ward

South Ward residents have raised concerns about street lighting for years. Large sections of the ward — particularly on Riverside Avenue, Larkin Close, and the footpaths between the estate and the town centre — are dangerously dark after sunset. For residents who work late shifts, for elderly people, for women walking alone, and for children returning home from after-school activities, this is not an inconvenience. It is a genuine and daily safety risk.

Several incidents of tripping and injury have been reported on unlit sections. Residents also report feeling unsafe and avoiding these routes after dark entirely, effectively cutting them off from parts of the ward that they have every right to access freely and safely.

We call on the Environmental Services & Highways Department to urgently address the street lighting deficit in South Ward as a matter of public safety.

A resident-led street audit conducted in October 2025 identified 14 street sections and four footpaths in South Ward with either failed, missing, or severely degraded lighting. The audit was submitted to the council's highways team in November 2025 with no response to date. South Ward has the highest rate of reported after-dark incidents in Ambridge according to 2025 police community safety data, and the lowest proportion of streets rated 'adequate' in the council's own 2024 public lighting condition survey.