It may have a decisive ring of , when street lights were turned off across England during the miner's strikes, but County Council have insisted that a "Dark Skies" scheme could save £400,000 a year.

The move, put forward in November 2024, was quickly halted following an outpouring of criticism from communities afraid that the "unsafe and unfair" plans would increase rates of late-night accidents and reduce safety for shift workers.

The -run council arrived at the idea to turn off most of its 60,000 street lights between 11pm and 6:30am in a bid to raise extra money after revealing that it had a budget shortfall of £13.9 million for the 2025/26 financial year in October.

The local authority said that its primary concern was the "reduction of artificial night-time light" and its impact on health and wildlife.

Over 1,700 locals rebelled against the proposal, however, calling for Oxfordshire to "keep the lights on".

"Street lights are crucial for pedestrian safety, especially during winter months when it gets darker earlier," councillor Andrew Crichton declared on one such campaign page.

"It also unfairly disadvantages shift workers," he added. "Why should [they] have to travel to and from work in pitch black darkness?"

Following what a spokesperson for the council described as a period of "further work including more consultation and talks with the police", councillors will be handed new proposals for the scheme next week, the BBC reports.

Amended plans will put "personal and community safety" at the fore, with "different operating hours, levels of light intensity and exemptions" matching "the diversity of the county's geography and communities".

The revised scheme, which would amend its headline messaging from "dark skies" to "part night lighting", also aims to "improve the natural environment from a carbon and biodiversity perspective" - as will be built upon during a meeting on Wednesday, February 5.

An anti-one size fits all approach would see individual communities undergo two rounds of consultation before having their lights dimmed or extinguished overnight, with a final decision going to the responsible cabinet member, according to the BBC.

As well as stoking local ire, the initial proposals didn't go down well with other high profile figures in the county - with Matthew Barber, police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley hitting out at the news in November.

"Badly lit streets can exacerbate both the risk of crime and the fear of crime," he said.

"The unilateral dimming or switching off of street lighting may jeopardise not just the confidence that has been built up, but also the safety of women in the county."

Cabinet member at the city council Lubna Arshad also told the Oxford Mail: "Darkened streets create an environment that fosters antisocial behaviour and crime, putting our most vulnerable residents at increased risk - this is unacceptable."

Part-night lighting schemes are already in force in parts of the UK including Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, with local councils in the regions switching off or dimming lights between midnight and 5:30am during the week and between 1am and 6:30am on weekends.

An estimated half of councils across the country have implemented similar measures in the last decade, with many counting on the findings of a 2015 study by University College London that suggested lighting could be "reduced" without causing an increase in car accidents and crime.

At a time when many local authorities are facing financial difficulties brought on by limited council tax increases, the demands of a growing elderly population and cost-of-living pressures, it's not hard to see why they're taking the gamble. But in Oxfordshire, the fight may continue to prove more difficult than expected.

Speaking in November after the proposals sparked backlash, deputy county council leader Pete Sudbury said: "This was intended as a technical document, which was meant to be a framework on which to base next stages, including consultation, and authorise expenditure.

"Unfortunately, it was quite understandably seen as a plan for immediate implementation. As a result, it set a lot of hares running, and I apologise for any upset caused."