DANGEROUS street lights are becoming a huge drain on a village’s resources.

Unsafe concrete street lighting columns in Northop Hall cost £1,300 each to replace and the price means the community council is only able to replace one or two a year.

Now community leaders are appealing for help to get the situation resolved, with about 20 columns still needing work.

Cllr Terry Mallinson, vice chairman of the community council, said the problem stemmed from the fact the lights were not under the jurisdiction of Flintshire Council.

He said: “It is a big problem. They are proving to be a huge drain on our resources.
A lot of them have come to the end of their life expectancy. We are constantly having to pay out to have them replaced. The only way we can get rid of them is to bring them up to Flintshire’s standard and that is proving to be very expensive.

“We are constantly looking for other sources of revenue that would help us. We do regular checks on the lights and we take them down immediately if we are told they are a danger.”

In a bid to solve the problem North Wales AM Mark Isherwood has raised the matter with the Welsh Assembly Government and Flintshire Council and said there was the possibility of a loan scheme.

He said: “Northop Hall community council told me that their former lighting maintenance contractor informed them two years ago that their 26 concrete street lighting columns would be unsafe within two years.

“They also advised me that Flintshire Council has offered to adopt the street lighting columns if Northop Hall Community Council replaces the columns and puts in the latest lamps, but they cannot afford to do this fast enough.”

Deputy leader of Flintshire Council Tony Sharps, ward member for Northop Hall, said he wanted to reassure residents.

He said: “I do not think the situation is as serious as they are making out. The lights are working and are looking in good shape, if they were not they would have been pulled down. There is no need to panic.”