I know it's partly a matter of taste, but I really don't like the new, white lights. When I turn off a road with the old sodium lights into one of the roads with new lights, I instantly feel my heart sink into my boots. The lighting is so cold and harsh, with pools of darkness, it's quite depressing. However, we may get used to them - I remember the sodium lights coming in when I was a child and how horrified we were at how bright they were.

What is not a matter of taste is questions of safety. As a driver, I have noticed that road humps, pedestrians and (stupid) cyclists dressed in dark colours are harder to spot with the new lights. I see them, but much later than with the old lights. Sunderland Road worries me a great deal. My teenaged daughter walks along here every evening in the dark and is already concerned about the dark stretches where the lights are on the other side of the road.