I am writing to express my concerns regarding the proposal by the council to borrow £26m for replacing the city’s street lights.

I agree that many of them need to be replaced and wonder if this could be done gradually as each light becomes due for replacement rather than in one fell swoop.

It should not therefore be necessary to borrow all this money even though it would take longer to complete the job.

It is also important to choose the correct sort of LED so that it has a colour range of 2000-2500 degrees and is not ultra bright as this can be blinding.

We must keep away from the blue end of the spectrum as this has proven health problems with the suppression of melatonin. Another essential factor is to make sure that they are dark sky friendly and will reduce light pollution.

Although the ornate lights are protected by English Heritage the actual lamps could be changed so that they fit inside the hoods and do not add to light pollution. An example of this is for the council to look at what Eastbourne have done with theirs.

Rather than spend £100,000 on consultants surely it would be better to visit councils that have changed their lighting and see how they went about it.

Elizabeth Pettifer

Hangleton Valley Drive,

Hove