Following proposals put forward by Surrey County Council to turn off street lighting in Egham, President, Education & Campaigns, Tasha Barrett has begun lobbying the Council to reconsider.
During the last week, the following list from the Surrey County Council website has been circulating on social media.
The list references the council’s proposed plans to shut off street lighting in the Egham/Englefield Green area from midnight until 5am every night from the end of February. Living in a student area, we can all agree the times people walk to and from campus are quite varied – particularly after a Friday SU event or an all-nighter in the library.
Naturally a number of students are concerned about the potential safety risk the lack of street lights may create or simply about just feeling secure walking to and from campus. So I want to make sure students are aware that both RHSU and the College are working to combat the issue. Whilst at this stage it is not completely reassuring, we are putting time and effort into preventing the council from following this plan.
A number of weeks ago a student informed me of the Council’s plans, having already written to a local counsellor to express his concerns – which showed how important an issue it is to students. Following on from this I spoke to the Principal to ask for help in approaching Runneymede Council and he agreed to put his full support behind it.
Since the start of term the College and the SU have been working on the issue and progress seems fairly positive; College representatives have already contacted and met with County Council figures to outline the number of students living in the area and make a strong case for the lights staying on.
Furthermore, College is continuing to work on the problem with local and County Council representatives. We will ensure that students are kept up to date as progress takes place but rest assured we are putting all of our effort into representing your concerns and fixing the potential problem. Paul Layzell has already written directly to the Council following a meeting with their representatives and as an SU representative I will be communicating with college to ensure this process continues.
To help in our efforts lobbying the council we need your support. Head over to the Bright Ideas platform now and vote on the idea put forward by Jessica O'Sullivan to keep the lights on.
If you have any other concerns or questions feel free to contact me at President@su.rhul.ac.uk