Portsmouth shops defend leaving lights on overnight as campaigner says 'no brainer' to switch off

More than a dozen shops across the city’s shopping districts were found to have active in-store lighting past 8pm last month – when non-essential retail was closed due to the national lockdown.

Vacant retail units previously occupied by Topman, Burton, and Debenhams in Commercial Road were among those with lights on late into the evening during lockdown.

Businesses with in-store lighting left on past 10pm in the shopping street included Santander, Greggs, Argos, Schuh, Wilko, and PureGym – as well as the Cascades shopping centre.

Within Gunwharf Quays, Yankee Candle and Adidas were seen with in-store lighting left on past 9.30pm.

Turning off in-store lighting when stores were closed during lockdown should be been a ‘no-brainer’ according to Rachel Hudson, a coordinator from Portsmouth Friends of the Earth.

She said: ‘I’m really, really surprised so many lights are left on.

‘It is an issue that needs to be raised.

‘The more we can do to reduce our carbon emissions the better – it starts with small steps, and the small things add up.’

Lighting accounts for five per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, according to international environmental charity The Climate Group.

Online retailers Boohoo and Asos took over former Arcadia brands Burton and Topman respectively in February, shuttering stores across the country, including branches in Commercial Road.

Administrator Deloitte said its store teams ‘were asked to turn all lights off in stores when they were vacated’ and that the keys to the Commercial Road retail units have now been passed back to the landlords.

The News contacted the company dealing with enquiries relating to the closing of Debenhams.

Other businesses that responded to enquiries listed security concerns and safety during stock replenishment as reasons for their lights being left on.

But not every shop opts to have some lighting on past usual opening hours, with Primark, H&M, Boots, and Specsavers in Commercial Road remaining dark past 8pm.

It comes as Portsmouth City Council looks to install low-energy LED lighting across 71 council-owned buildings, as part of £1.9 million project to make schools, libraries, care homes, and officers more environmentally friendly.

In 2018, the council began to replace more than 15,000 street lights with energy efficient LED lights, reducing energy usage by 40 per cent and saving around £400,000 of every year.

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays to get new retailers soon, confirms director

Both Nationwide and Santander are now carbon neutral, with Adidas aiming to achieve this goal by 2025.

The News approached Schuh, PureGym, Greggs, and the Cascades for comment.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for 27p a day.