Plans to dim streetlights across the borough will mainly affect main roads, while lights on underpasses and most residential streets will be left alone, council bosses have said.

It comes after residents raised fears for safety at night – and amid apparent confusion at the top.

Leaders of Bracknell Forest Council are recommending that streetlights be dimmed by 10 per cent as part of cost saving plans. The proposal prompted some people to tell the council they feared streets would become less safe at night.

Now Andrew Hunter, a senior council manager, has said lighting on ‘most of our residential streets’ and in underpasses will ‘not be affected’ by the plans. He added: “Major roads in the borough will, however, be subject to this proposal.”

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Mr Hunter’s statement – issued on Wednesday February 5 – came as an apparent correction to comments made by councillor Guy Gillbe, who is responsible for roads, the evening before.

Speaking at a meeting of council leaders on Tuesday, February 6, councillor Gillbe said lights would only be dimmed late at night when there are fewer people on the streets. And he appeared to suggest lights would not be dimmed on major roads.

Councillor Gillbe said he wanted to be ‘very clear about exactly what is being proposed.’

He said: “What is being proposed is a dimming of streetlights in nighttime hours. It is not a blanket level of dimming throughout the whole night.

“They will remain at a brighter level in the early hours of the night – at the beginning and the late evening – and then in the early hours, the later hours of the morning when people are more likely to be in need of moving around, with the more pronounced dimming to be taking place in the middle of the night.”

He added:  “There are also major roads that are frankly not at a level where we would be looking to dim them further.”

But Mr Hunter – the executive director for place, planning and regeneration – said the council already dims streetlights late at night on residential roads. He said that meant the proposals would affect major roads the most.

Mr Hunter said: “The council, like many local authorities, already dims its lights through the night, with higher levels of brightness during busier times, such as early morning and evening.

“The lighting in most of our residential streets is already set at a lower energy efficient level during the quieter overnight period, so will not be dimmed any further.”

None of this information was included in public documents when residents were consulted on the plans, or in previous statements to the press.

The plans are included in spending proposals for the coming year. They will need to be approved at a meeting of all councillors on February 21 before being implemented from April.