RE9 Criteria for Floodlighting at Sports Facilities Policy
The Local Planning Authority, in assessing proposals for the provision of floodlighting at sports facilities, will have regard to:
(i) the visual impact of lights, fences and pylons on the character of the neighbourhood;
(ii) the impact of increased use of the site, especially outside normal daylight hours;
(iii) the impact of night-time illumination on neighbouring uses, including wildlife, from light levels outside the main playing areas; and
(iv) the impact on residential amenity.
Planning permission will be subject to conditions related to hours of operation and the control of levels of illumination, including the output and intensity of lighting proposed and their horizontal and vertical setting.
Reasoned justification :
9.33 Floodlighting enables the use of sports facilities outside normal daylight hours, and, in the case of artificial pitches, often enables a level of use capable of justifying the initial level of capital investment. Floodlighting can, however, have a negative impact on adjacent uses and residential areas are particularly sensitive.
9.34 Lighting pylons can be visually intrusive and increased use outside normal daylight hours can introduce unacceptable disturbance to local residents at what would normally be quiet evening hours. The lights themselves can also cause glare and nuisance where they are too bright or poorly focused on the main playing area.
9.35 Policy RE9, therefore, ensures that proposals to introduce floodlighting at sports venues will be subject to careful control, especially where they are located near residential property and recognised sites of importance for nocturnal and other wildlife.