The neighbours have to use torches to see in the dark outside their homes
Doreen Buchanan, 90, and Judith Raggett, 79, have been fighting for years to get the broken streetlamp outside of their homes fixed(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
Elderly residents on a quiet Nottinghamshire cul-de-sac fear they have been “left behind” as their years-long battle for support continues.
Neighbours on Blackrod Close in Toton have been fighting to get the broken lamppost outside of their homes fixed for more than five years.
Doreen Buchanan and Judith Raggett have spent countless hours calling everyone they could think of in the hopes of getting the issue resolved – to no avail.
The two villagers, 90 and 79 respectively, have been forced to use torches when leaving and arriving home in the dark, as they are unable to see due to the lack of street light.
They have also resorted to keeping the house lights on when they go out, as they would not otherwise be able to see the path from the main road to the door when they return.
The absence of light in the closed-off row of houses has left the elderly neighbours “frightened” to go outside when it gets dark – even just to take out the bins.
“My son has to walk me to my door every time I go out because it’s pitch black here past 4pm,” says Doreen, who moved to the close 17 years ago after her husband died.
“Before I leave the house, I have to put my porch light on just to see the path from my door to the main road.”
Judith, who has lived on the road for 10 years, added: “It’s dangerous if you’re walking down here at night – somebody could be following you and you wouldn’t know because it’s so dark.
“I now keep a torch in the car and if I’m getting home a bit late, I have to use that.”
The neighbours claim they began trying to get the lamppost fixed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, after it suddenly stopped working.
It had previously broken in 2016, at which point Broxtowe Borough Council workers quickly came out and fixed the problem.
Yet, when Doreen and Judith attempted to call the council again, it became clear things wouldn’t be as easy the second time round.
“We called them but they said ‘It’s nothing to do with us now’ and that we should call the county council,” Judith continued.
“So we called the county council and they said they would look into it and that they would send somebody out but we didn’t see anyone.
The lamppost is causing significant problems for residents on the close(Image: Joseph Raynor/Reach PLC)
“Every time we rang they said ‘we’ll look into it and ring you back’ but nothing happened and then we were told to call Broxtowe again – it went backward and forwards and the problem was we couldn’t get anyone to come and speak to us face-to-face.”
“At some stage during the pandemic, it seemed like everything changed and now you just get told ‘we can’t do anything about it,'” Doreen added.
“In the 60s and 70s, someone would come and talk to you and you’d have a chat with them, but not anymore.”
Much of the confusion around the lamppost comes down to the issue of whether or not the close the residents live on has been adopted by the county council’s highway teams – meaning they would be the ones responsible for maintaining it.
According to the county council, part of the road is ‘publicly maintained,’ however this does not stretch to Doreen and Judith’s houses at the end of the close.
This means maintenance of the lamppost would not fall on the county council – yet with the borough council previously being the ones to fix the street light, much confusion remains around who actually is responsible.
And despite their best efforts, Doreen and Judith’s constant calling and emailing has provided them with no further clarity.
“You never get an explanation from anyone and even if the council’s aren’t responsible, they should at least come out and see it for themselves,” Judith added.
“You get some people on the phone who say ‘we’ll put you through to the correct office’ and then the call just rings out.
“We pay the same tax as everyone else and we deserve an explanation at the least – we should have a working light outside our house.”
Post-pandemic, many local services – including council departments – moved large chunks of their operations online, with many in-person and phone services being replaced by internet forms and applications.
Charities that provide support and advice to the elderly have called on the Government to ensure in-person support still exists to provide clarity for elderly people in situations like Doreen and Judith’s.
A spokesperson for Broxtowe Borough Council said: “We can confirm that this streetlight is on land owned by Nottinghamshire County Council however, we have reported this to the relevant team at the County Council with confirmation that this has been inspected.
“We will ensure that this is properly followed up to resolve this issue for our residents as quickly as possible”
We also contacted Nottinghamshire County Council, but have not heard back in time for publication.