I AM writing in response to Mr Johnson’s letter of 20 April 20 in which he asked whether the lights in the Civic Centre multi-storey car park could be switched off outside of working hours.

I would first of all like to thank Mr Johnson for his support for the solar panel project which achieved more than £2,500 of savings during its first month of operation.

This has been an ongoing issue and I would like to assure those residents who have also contacted us previously that we had already been developing a lighting solution for the car park.

This which would help strike a better balance between the necessary lighting requirements for car parks, the needs of staff working irregular hours and still allowing the lights to be off when they are not needed.

Such a solution is planned to be in place by May for the lights immediately under the solar panels on the top floor in order to minimise light pollution, followed by a similar approach for the whole multi-storey car park once further funding becomes available.

PAUL COOLING

Carbon Reduction Manager, Borough of Poole