The council is hoping to save money and "promote a general feeling of well-being" by trailing dimmer streetlights.

In February 2023, Slough Borough Council set about the first of two trials to turn down the brightness of street lamps.

A two-month trial took place from January 23 to March 23, 2023, in Rochfords Gardens and Goodman Park estates, Maplin Park, Colnbrook, Part of Cippenham Green and the Northern part of Britwell.

It was claimed dimming street lights could save the council £25,000.

A second trial began in December and will last until March. It will focus on the following roads:

  • Zone 1: Upton Court
  • Zone 2: Cippenham Manor
  • Zone 3: Manor Park & Stoke
  • Zone 4: Colnbrook
  • Zone 5: Cippenham Village
  • Zone 6: A355 Tuns Lane (between M4 j6 and the Copthorne Roundabout)
  • Zone 7: A412 Uxbridge Road (Sainsbury’s Roundabout to Borough Boundary)

The council hopes that should the trial be effective, a "borough-wide adaptive streetlight regime" will be enforced to achieve "significant carbon, energy and cost savings".

Several dimming options will be tested and observed as part of the trial.

Between 2016 and 2018, Slough joined Reading and Wokingham in a joint project which saw most streetlights replaced with LEDs.

The change saw lighting output set at 70 per cent across the borough. 

During the trial, street lights will be dimmed to 40 to 60 per cent from dusk to 10pm and 30 to 50 per cent from 10pm to midnight.

From midnight to dawn some streetlights could be dimmed to 20 per cent, with the brightest operating at 40 per cent.

In the report drawn up by the council, they state: "The new sites have been selected based on their location, avoiding any potentially contentious settings including shopping parades, busy highways and junctions, roundabouts and where there is likely to be lots of people congregating at night, and where there are known crime hotspots, or where TVP advise us otherwise."

Previously concerns have been raised around the negative impacts on the community, including an increase in crime and disorder, road traffic safety concerns, and perception of lack of safety as possible risks, particularly for the elderly, disabled people, and women and girls.