A "lighting design strategy for biodiversity" :)

[Alan Ambrose]

OK, we have permission now. It will probably take me months to recover from the PTSD caused by 1 year of purchase shenanigans and 2 years of planning BS. Most conditions are standard, but I was surprised to get this one below. The plot is in a hamlet in the countryside and currently a bit of old pasture with grass, 3 trees at the back, one old apple tree in the middle, and little else. Anyone had something similar?

 

5. Prior to the installation of any external lighting a "lighting design strategy for biodiversity" for
development, the new building, and features or areas to be lit shall be submitted to and
approved in writing by the local planning authority. The strategy shall:

a) identify those areas/features on site that are particularly sensitive for biodiversity likely to
be impacted by lighting and that are likely to cause disturbance in or around their breeding
sites and resting places or along important routes used to access key areas of their territory,
for example, for foraging; and

 

b) show how and where external lighting will be installed (through the provision of
appropriate lighting contour plans and technical specifications) so that it can be clearly
demonstrated that areas to be lit will not disturb or prevent the above species using their
territory or having access to their breeding sites and resting places.
All external lighting shall be installed in accordance with the specifications and locations set
out in the strategy, and these shall be maintained thereafter in accordance with the strategy.

 

Under no circumstances should any other external lighting be installed without prior consent
from the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To ensure that impacts on ecological receptors from external lighting are prevented

[kandgmitchell]

This is all well meaning and I can see the concerns about the impact of external lighting on wildlife etc. However, where this all falls down is; Alan builds his house (if he has the energy left) moves out after eight years due to nervous exhaustion. The new owner isn't aware of the condition because frankly who would be in the real world. Finds his patio is too dark so fits a 500W floodlight. The neighbours aren't interested and don't know about the condition either and the local badgers find it easier to find the hedgehogs because they can see them better.

 

This type of condition goes with the landscaping one requiring detailed planting schemes for individual dwellings where despite fancy landscape designs and posh plants specified the new owner is going to do what they want in their garden and the planners never check. At least approvals are digital now, it saves the wasted paper spent on some lists of conditions..... 

 

Good luck - more expense!

[Russell griffiths]

It’s another cheque you will need to write

get it designed, get it signed off. 
install all wiring where you want it, install minimal lights as per agreed plan, get house signed off, install extra lights. 
 

it’s just another box ticking waste of time. 
 

I had to have my house superimposed onto some pictures taken by a landscape ecology designer to show it wouldn’t upset the 3 people per year that walk down a footpath that is 100m from the house. 
 

 

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, kandgmitchell said:

This is all well meaning

It is all that can be done.

A future owner might know the ruling, but not care about killing moths or nature at all.

But if it is sympathetic from the outset then it is a start. Most people don't change much.

[Iceverge]

Can you copy and paste someone else's? 

 

 

[DevilDamo]

4 hours ago, kandgmitchell said:

The new owner isn't aware of the condition because frankly who would be in the real world.

The new purchasers’ solicitor.

[DownSouth]

Congrats on planning permission.

 

Do you already know you have foraging animals? Or do you just need to show you’ve considered them, so no lighting hedges, up lighting trees, etc? ‘no evidence of foraging mammals, bats, etc however to protect…’

 

We did our own design and scheme documents which were enough for our LPA to sign off. Happy to share if helpful but you could put ‘discharge of condition lighting’ or ‘lighting design scheme biodiversity’ into a planning portal and see what people in your area have done. 
 

Advice on discharging conditions is to try and go them all in one go. Our LPA charges each time you apply to discharge - but you can do as many as you want in one go. We didn’t realise that straight away - it can be an expensive process (we had 13 or 14 conditions!).

[Jilly]

My ecologist started talking about this when I had the bat mitigation designed for the Bat Licence. The next ecologist who visited from the same company didn’t mention it, so I didn’t bring it up, so I’m not surprised it’s become another ‘thing’ to worry about. 
 We’ve got street lights nearby, so I don’t think my odd outside house lights make much difference, but I’ve made sure that they aren’t like Blackpool illuminations, because I do care about wildlife. 
 

From what others have said, atm it looks like you can draw up something sensible yourselves. Maybe get some biology students to help. 
You could spend a lot of money getting an ecologist to survey and design a mitigation plan if you want. 

Edited Tuesday at 22:27 by Jilly

[Roger440]

Ahh, thousands more to be spent on "consultants". Another band wagon for them to jump on.

 

Or, dont fit any outside lighting. Wait until everyone has lost interest, fit it later. Whos going to know or care? Even if they do, whats the likely enforcement. Lighting is penuts, so could be removed if it had to be.

[Alan Ambrose]

Thanks. I might try the DIY approach as we don't have much in the way of wildlife or much in the way of lights planned. I have a camera there (Reolink Go Ranger) which spots bigger wildlife fairly well - well walker's dogs anyway. I've seen one ordinary newt hiding in the cap over one of our SI bores, birds in the hedge and a couple of sightings of vole or rat-like things. We also have a couple of molehills. I'm told there are muntjacs around but never seen any evidence. At our current place we have a light either side of the front door and that's about it apart from the xmas lights .

 

@DownSouth - did you have some fancy light cone images in your doc?

[kandgmitchell]

14 hours ago, DevilDamo said:

The new purchasers’ solicitor.

They may well get a copy of the original approval but imagine a house built say 10 years ago, I'd very surprised if a solicitor bothered to read through the approval notice for that house and raise a specific point with the purchasor about getting permission for what would be by then, alternative or additional outside lights. Most just chug through a paper exercise.

[DownSouth]

7 hours ago, Alan Ambrose said:

 

@DownSouth - did you have some fancy light cone images in your doc?

No we just did this, showed the lights on the plan and had a drawing of it and wrote a supporting ‘scheme’ to go with it. We used information off the internet on lights for dark sky areas, and info from wildlife sites on creating refugia (messy areas of garden that you’ll leave undisturbed) for critters to use/hibernate in. 
 

We ended up removing the track lighting as well either be driving up or walking with a torch if needed and didn’t want them coming on with the sheep next door.

Edited Wednesday at 17:21 by DownSouth

[DevilDamo]

7 hours ago, kandgmitchell said:

I'd very surprised if a solicitor bothered to read through the approval notice

If only we could predict that, especially when some pick up on works carried out back in the 80’s without the relevant approvals!!!

 

But also, the condition would be seen and included as a land charge and “is” something a solicitor would pick up on.

[Bounce]

We had the same issue. We had to get a lighting plan done, which I marked out where we wanted the lighting etc and some possible brands, and my ecologist looked over it and told us where to make a few tweaks, for example having some lights on sensors instead of on/off switch, so they are not on for long periods of time, and then created a report to support it. 

 

The local wildlife trust were happy with it... The planners must have not even looked at it, and still put it as a condition that we need to submit a lighting plan fot approval etc, even though the wildlife trust said it was all fine. When queried ot with planning, they said that it must have been put as a condition, as there was more information needed by the wildlife trust, and even though i explained they had emailed me and them saying they support it, they then didn't respond. So i need to do this as a seperate discharge again, and wildlife trust said they will confirm again that they will support it... 

 

It's all been added cost for me, with the Bat surveys etc etc. I obviously had to pay the ecologist for the lighting strategy report and to submit a bat Licence application etc..