COSTCUTTING plans to turn off thousands of street lights after midnight have been dropped by Oxfordshire County Council.

County Hall decided not to switch off streetlights after finding changes in electricity tariffs mean it would not produce major savings after all.

The council’s part-time lighting plan would have seen half the county’s streetlights switched off between 12.30am and 5.30am.

Council spokesman Paul Smith said: “The proposed changes to the way councils will be charged by energy providers will have a negligible effect on overall budgets as the charges for peak times have been raised.

“These will be offset by the new lower rates for lighting during off peak periods.”

The council had planned to save about £350,000 by switching off about 28,000 streetlights.

“It was seen as making a contribution to proposals to save £119m by 2015, after Government cuts to grants.

A revised proposal for street lighting in Oxfordshire will be now examined by Highways & Transport managers in the Autumn, in advance of the council’s 2012/13 budget proposals.

It could see streetlights in the county dimmed, something implemented elsewhere in the UK, as an alternative way to make savings.