Plans to put up floodlights at a tennis court in Hove have divided a community.
St Ann’s Tennis applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for planning permission to put up 15 lighting columns – 26ft or 8 metres tall – and two single-storey storage buildings in St Ann’s Well Gardens.
The courts are on the corner of Nizells Avenue and Somerhill Road – and the plans are due to be decided by the council’s Planning Committee next week.
A report to the committee backs the plan and said that the council had received 54 comments in support but 63 objections.
The report also said that conditions should be attached if planning permission is granted, limiting use of the floodlights to between 4pm and 9pm daily.
Objectors had concerns about the location of the storage buildings as well as potential harm to bats, birds, badgers and insects – and the prospect of light pollution.
When the plans were submitted, an objection was lodged by the three ward councillors – Birgit Miller, Trevor Muten and Jackie O’Quinn who has since stood down from the council.
They said that the wider community had not been consulted about the plans, just tennis club members and the chair of the Friends of St Ann’s Well Gardens.
After a request by the ward councillors, two public meetings were organised but no conclusions were reached to address neighbours’ concerns.
The councillors said: “The main concerns of nearby residents are the lights and the timing of the lights as it is argued that 15 tennis court floodlights will have a negative impact on valuable wildlife habitats and on nearby residents.
“The city council has installed bat and wildlife-friendly lighting in the park with low-energy shielded lights which switch off at 8pm ‘to cut out light pollution and protect biodiversity in the park’, as stated in council documentation.
“Previously Goldsmid ward councillors were heavily involved in the consultation with the environment team about these lights.
“The time of 8pm was decided on after much discussion and the need to respect the council’s planning policy regarding ‘dark skies’.”
Supporters said that the design minimised light spill, provided more options for tennis and would improve safety in the area.
An anonymous supporter, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “On the idea that the lights are ‘not needed’ because people have managed without them: that might have been true in the past but it doesn’t reflect how people live now.
“Most of us finish work at around 5pm to 6pm and in winter it’s already dark by 4pm. Without lighting, the courts are basically unusable on weekdays for a large part of the community.”
The council’s Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Wednesday (5 August). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
