Improved Lighting at Birchgrove - we need your help
Leichhardt Council are in the process of putting through a development application for an upgrade of the lights at Birchgrove. The new lights would improve on the current situation of 5 lux of light to 50 lux which is the minimum Australian standard for a night sporting facility. The lights would illuminate a far greater area of the park enabling teams to rotate their use of the ground, reducing wear in the concentrated areas where the lights are currently located. Improved light would make conditions far safer for people training on the park, not to mention we would hopefully reduce the number of balls we kick into the harbour by not training right next to the water!
The small telegraph poles holding the current lights would be removed, opening up the view to the harbour, with the new taller lights being positioned on the fringes of the oval, amongst the trees to minimize the visual impact. The increased height of the new towers will direct the light in a more downwards direction, which reduces light spillage outside the oval, which is a major concern for the local residents as the current lights are directed at a low angle straight across the ground.
This letter was sent to local residents detailing the DA, and this document shows an aerial photograph of the ground with the proposed position of new lights.
There are a number of local residents vehemently opposed to the installation of new lights for various reasons, the most notable being:
- The fear that the lights will increase the usage of the park at night. The letter above from the council clearly states that this will not be the case.
- The belief that night games will be played once the lights are installed. This is not true because Australian Standards require an illumination of 100 lux for night games to be played.
- The belief the lights will mean a larger amount of brighter light shining into their harbour view living rooms. The height of the new lights and the steeper angle of the units will mean they will have far less light "spillage" than they do now.
- The new lights will be out of character for the ground and the surrounding area. As shown in the documents above the council has done its best to place the lights in positions amongst trees to minimise their visibility while still providing light to Australian standards.
The development application is currently on display at Leichhardt Council and the council is accepting submissions from members of the public. We urge as many people as possible associated with the club to contact council and show their support for the new lights.
We have spoken to council and they provided us with the following information regarding submissions:
Any submissions regarding the proposal should clearly be marked as "Submission for D/2006/1"
Printed submissions should be sent to:
Leichhardt Council
ATT: Eamon Egan
PO Box 45
Leichhardt NSW 2040
Email submissions can be emailed to records@lmc.nsw.gov.au and marked to the attention of Eamon Egan.
The closing date for submissions is Friday January 27.
Let's not let a small yet vocal minority of Birchgrove residents ruin the chance for the whole Balmain community to have a genuine safe night-time sporting facility.
