LIGHTS have been kept on permanently at a ten-storey building site for more than 16 months.

A spokeswoman for the construction company behind the £485 million Royal Sussex County Hospital redevelopment in Brighton, said it was to ensure safety and security.

Following an anonymous complaint from a resident, the Laing O’Rourke representative confirmed the lights have been left on “since the project started”.

The project is currently ten floors tall and each floor is about 4,700 square feet.

The person who complained described it as a “scandalous waste of power in the hospital building works programme”.

And said an “occupancy sensor” should be installed so the lights go out when there is nobody present.

But the Laing O’Rourke spokeswoman said the light levels were “appropriate” and helped ensure the safety of its overnight team.

Chris Todd, from Brighton and Hove Friends Of The Earth, said: “I would agree with residents. This sounds like a tremendous waste of public money which is generating unnecessary carbon emissions.

“If there’s a security issue then one, do they really need their lights on all of the time and two, should they not have the lights on some sort of detector which would go off?

“Given the declared climate emergency, anyone in charge needs to justify why they are doing this or turn them off.”

The Laing O’Rourke spokeswoman said: “A well-lit construction site allows our project teams to work effectively and safely.

“Appropriate light levels at the 3Ts redevelopment at the Royal Sussex County Hospital enable operatives to carry out their work, highlight emergency exits and ensure our overnight security team has sufficient lighting to patrol the site.

“The lighting arrangements are reviewed on a regular basis and can be altered depending on the needs of the project.

“Having the site well lit allows our teams to work effectively and safely.

“Each floor has an approximate area of 4,700 square metres and natural light will not suffice across such a large footprint.”

The 3Ts programme will see the front half of the Royal Sussex County Hospital site transformed with two new state-of-the-art buildings replacing the current outdated facilities.

The first stage of the redevelopment was completed in June.

The Stage 1 building will open early next year and will be the new home for more than 30 wards and departments.

The redevelopment programme will be complete in 2025.

A Spokesman Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Our 3Ts redevelopment team regularly talk to local communities and hold public meetings to keep them updated on the hospital project.

“These meetings have been held for the last ten years and ensure residents have the opportunity to ask questions about the redevelopment and share their views.

“We have also sent out more than 100 newsletters and information updates to our neighbours in Kemp Town during that time and answered thousands of queries from people interested in the project.

“A representative of the 3Ts redevelopment team would be happy to answer any questions the resident might have.”

l Bright lights at the Amex stadium– page 6