A council has switched off streetlights in a village where Andy Burnham plans to house 1,250 male asylum seekers in a bid to reduce the area’s carbon footprint.
Locals in Piddington have highlighted the signage that adorns some of the lights, telling residents that lights will be turned off during the early hours of the morning.
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The signs, from Oxfordshire County Council, read: “This street light has been converted to part night operation as part of our carbon reduction commitment.
“This street light will be switched off from approximately 12:30AM to 5:30AM.”
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The lack of lighting comes as the Chair of Piddington Parish Council has hit out at Andy Burnham’s “extraordinary” silence after earmarking their community to house a staggering 1,250 male asylum seekers.
Speaking to GB News, Tim McNally declared he is “astonished” at the lack of response from not only the Prime Minister, but any members of the Labour Government.
Residents in the tiny Oxfordshire hamlet are holding an emergency meeting tonight ahead of a referendum to leave Andy Burnham’s “HMO Britain”.
Speaking to GB News, the Prime Minister previously pledged to listen to their concerns.
He said: “We understand people’s concerns, and I will look into the issues raised by the good people of Piddington.”
Expressing his outrage at the situation, Mr McNally told GB News: “It’s been extraordinary, we’ve had absolutely nothing.
“In fact, the only thing we’ve all received is that pamphlet, understanding of operational behaviour of asylum seekers in their environments.
“So we’re astonished that there’s been no response whatsoever, not just from the Prime Minister, but actually from no women Labour backbenchers.
“They’ve not even stepped up to show any empathy with risk or security that a community would need to sustain as a consequence of such an environment.”
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The lack of lighting in the small village raises concerns for the safety of the locals, however Oxfordshire County Council told GB News: “These signs you mention aren’t new – they have been in place since 2015.
“Piddington has 24 streetlights. Following a consultation in 2015, the parish council agreed to convert the system to a part-night operation.
“Eleven streetlights operate on an all-night basis, while 13 operate on a part-night schedule, switching off after midnight.
“During this period there have been no recorded issues reported by Thames Valley Police relating to any incidents.
“The parish council can make a request to us directly if they want to amend the current arrangement.”
Mr McNally also hit out at the decision telling the People’s Channel: “We’ve got little notes that have been added onto all of the lampposts, stating that these lampposts now will not be operating between the hours of midnight until 5am in the morning. We’ll have no streetlights.
“”We’ve only got 14 of them. We’re a four square miles of a village, and yet our guests will be entitled to roam freely as they have been doing in Wethersfield.”
The Parish Councillor stressed that Wethersfield residents have informed him of asylum seekers “roaming around properties” in the early hours of the morning.
He said: “We’re using Wethersfield as our sort of like ground zero of understanding in terms of the operation and the environment, and they’re able to roam freely.
“They’ve been roaming in front of and around the properties of those residents at four in the morning, but we’ll have no lights here.”
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