Council leaders are coming under pressure to reverse earlier decisions to switch off street lights in many towns and villages, because new technology means they are now cheaper to keep on.
Locals in several areas are calling for the lights to stay on overnight, to allow them to feel safer and to help shift workers who commute in the dark.
But others are resisting the proposals, saying they have got used to the changes and that the move to leave them on after midnight will create more light pollution and expense.
The issue was raised at a recent council meeting and leaders agreed to consider reversing the switch-off in some specific cases.
But Kay Mason Billig, leader of Conservative-controlled County Hall also said people in Norfolk want to enjoy 'dark skies', so they would remain off in many areas to cut light pollution.
The decision to switch off tens of thousands of street lights across Norfolk between midnight and 5am was agreed by Norfolk County Council, with input from Norfolk police, in 2010 - but has always been contentious.
And, with the majority of lights now replaced with more energy-efficient LED models at a cost of millions of pounds, critics said keeping them on will no longer be as costly - or produce the same level of carbon emissions - as the older ones did.
Terry Jermy, Labour county councillor for Thetford West, is among those keen to see lights switched back on in some parts of the county.
He said: "LED lighting saves more money than part-night lighting. I think if we are upgrading lights to LED we should be moving away from part-night lighting.
"Thetford is one of the areas in the county where our lights still go off from midnight to the early hours."
Mrs Mason Billig said there might be areas where it would make sense for lights to stay on all night.
She said: "I think it might be horses for courses, because not everybody wants what they call light pollution and so we have to have an eye on that.
"Dark skies are something that is quite important to a lot of people. But there are areas where it may be you get more footfall in the middle of the night.
"We are looking at this with the UEA and whether those sort of street lights maybe should stay on overnight."
Students from the University of East Anglia recently presented a petition to county council leaders urging the authority to keep lights on for longer on a number of main roads near the campus.
More than 200 students signed the petition calling on the council to keep lights in streets such as Wycliffe Road and Friends Road on until 3am.
Ninty-four percent of students surveyed said they would feel safer if street lights were left on later.
Graham Plant, the council's cabinet member for highways, had said many of the roads in the area already remained lit throughout the night.
He said: "Before considering any review of Wycliffe Road and Friends Road to be illuminated all night, with dimming, the impacts on energy consumption, CO2 and upgrades to
streetlighting equipment to facilitate a change would need to be investigated."
A review carried out by the council in 2016 found there was 'no evidence' to support a link between the lights being switched off and increased crime.
Not all street lights are switched off overnight, with some kept on in certain areas on the advice of Norfolk police.
But Mr Jermy said keeping street lights on towns, like Thetford, which have a lot of night shift workers, could be beneficial.
He said: "Don't assume I'm in favour of street lights going on everywhere. I completely respect the communities which want them to remain off, for whatever reason.
"There are lots of areas, however, like mine, where there are an awful lot of shift workers and we want people to walk and cycle more.
"Twenty-five per cent of Thetford does not have a car and actually, it's a real barrier, street lights being off, for shift workers.
"I'm pleased this is being looked at. LED does save more money than part-night lighting.
"If we're getting to a point now where a significant amount of those lights are upgraded to LED, then I'm hoping that will be an end to part-night lighting in lots of places."
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