County Hall claims the move will cut £14 million from its electricity bill by 2024 and reduce its carbon emissions by 8000 tonnes per year, but Mr Cox said he was not interested in following suit.
He said, "It is an unequivocal no. That is not a route we want to go down in Southend. We firmly believe our streets should be well lit and they will continue to be so."
A simnilar scheme was trialled on Maldon and Uttlesford between 2006 and 2008 and council chiefs said it did not affect the frequency of crime or road accidents.
But Mr Cox said he was not prepared to allow Southend to be used as a testing ground for those claims. "Our town will not be a guinea pig" he said. "It will be interesting to see whether crime and accidents do increase. If not, it may be the case that we look at the evidence again in a few years. But not for now, it is simply not on the agenda."
Story courtesy Echo by Stephen Hackwell