A tennis club’s plans to put up floodlights at four of its courts have received support from almost 200 people.
The plans show 18 “lighting columns” at the Pavilion and Avenue Tennis Club, in The Droveway, Hove, according to a Brighton and Hove City Council report.
Officials have advised councillors to approve the proposal at a meeting of the council’s Planning Committee next week.
Four of the club’s ten courts already have floodlights with two others covered by an internally floodlit “air-hall” used during the winter.
But the council turned down an earlier proposal, in 2016, for eight floodlights to cover three of the courts because of the impact on neighbours.
A report to councillors recommended a number of conditions including one to ensure that LED lighting should not be visible from “the habitable room windows of any residential property directly abutting the site”.
Another condition would restrict the hours when the floodlights could be in use – with a 9pm switch off from Monday to Friday and 8pm on Saturdays.
On Sundays, they would be permitted from 4pm to 6pm between the start of October and the end of March and not at all from the start of April to the end of September.
If the application is approved, the floodlighting could provide an extra 5,000 hours of court time a year.
Currently, the club said that it was busy at peak times but less so in the evening because of poor light.
In a planning statement prepared by the Lewis and Co consultancy, the tennis club said: “The club is in competition with large out-of-town commercial clubs.
“It is imperative that the club offers attractive facilities in order to survive and continue to be able to provide affordable opportunity to less wealthy people.
“The club is a community club open to players of all ages and standards at affordable prices, all year round.
“The current scheme reinforces the club’s position in the community to the benefit of all.”
Twelve objections have been lodged with the council in addition to 191 comments in support.
An anonymous objector, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “The light pollution and overspill already from the club’s existing court lighting is disturbing, not the least because of the focusing of the lights which is more horizontal than directed down on to the courts.
“To add more columns will greatly increase the light overspill and therefore pollution, further increasing disturbance to adjacent properties.
“It is not only the light impact but also the increase in noise that it will produce, not only the shouting, bad language and swearing, but (there is) a ‘rebounding wall’.
“The noise produced by the rebounding of the ball is similar to that produced by a pile-driver on a building site.
“To increase the hours of availability to seven nights a week is really most unacceptable and disconcerting, showing a total disregard for the club’s neighbours.”
A supporter, Paul Alexander, said: “Pavilion and Avenue Tennis Club are a well-run club. They have an incredibly passionate commitment to providing as much support as they can to junior tennis as well as a very healthy adult tennis community.
“The club really needs the extra facility of lights on the proposed courts so that juniors and seniors alike can play and get the real social and physical benefits of a sport like tennis.”
The Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Wednesday (6 September). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
Perhaps the real need is for more tennis courts in the city generally. Residents have my sympathy.
My introduction to planning as an issue came with blinding headaches compliments of temp lights at the Sussex County Cricket ground in Hove. Permanent lights followed, as did scaffold outside a block of flats at the north end if the field so Sky tv cd broadcast cricket outsside into the night. 2am clanging from dismantlings disturbed residents sleep there on top of needing black out curtains on their walls of glass overlooking the field. The nocturnal TV was stopped but the lights blaze on into the night sky there and over roof tops well into the wider reaches of Hove. Not every day, but blinding when they are on – even from as far away as Hove Station.
The Droveway tennis lights need to be angled down; yes; but that would blind a player during ball toss when serving or trying to smash a lob down! So that’s a conflict residents can expect to lose.
Lights planted in the ground around courts could be a wise and courteous way to go instead. Lots of them at low enough brilliance to just light the court but not the neighbours homes.
How you silence shrieking kids playing tennis at night instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour is more difficult. A curfew on light use belongs among Conditions of consent.
Curtains.
Most of the supporting submissions are from members of the tennis club.
I would imagine they would be supportive of this, yes?
Obesity is rife so we really need to support sports clubs
Especially ones who are non for profit unlike PE owned David Lloyd clubs – who have most of the indoor courts in UK