Gravesend street light campaigner to rally outside Parliament

Gravesend’s Tina Brooker, 52, is organising the Kent contingency, and urging the 11,000 people who signed her Right for Light petition to get involved.

She will speak to Kent County Council (KCC) about the issue on Thursday March 26, as she surpassed the 10,000 signatures needed to trigger a debate.

KCC reversed their decision to turn off street lights last month, and is embarking on a LED conversion project, installing 120,000 new light bulbs.

The scheme will cost £40m and will take three years to complete.

Miss Brooker said: "People think they are getting the LEDs straight away, but they won’t it will be years."

Miss Brooker has led the Kent campaign

The rally is being organised by Essex resident Maureen Smith, and protesters from the affected counties are meeting opposite Parliament at 11am.

Ms Smith said: "We want to make the MPs aware.

"William Hague said a while ago that this has got nothing to do with central government.

"But it has got everything to do with central government because they sat down with the engineers.

"So we thought that it needs to be taken back to where it came from."

Gravesham MP Adam Holloway is unimpressed by the campaign and dismissed claims that Gravesham needs 24-hour lighting.

Mr Holloway

He said: "There are many times when I get back after 2am from work and I will not see a single person between the A2 and my house. I see plenty of foxes."

Mr Holloway added: "I have already established that if there is anti-social behaviour the lights will be turned back on.

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"It has got nothing to do with Parliament.

"But if it’s a choice between cuts to children’s social services and turning off lights I know which one I would choose."

A spokesman from Kent County Council said: "Subject to the council’s budget processes and ultimate affordability, conversion to LED could start in late 2015 or early 2016 and take three years to complete."