HC Deb 07 July 1998 vol 315 c468W
Mr. Bob Russell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make the floodlighting of buildings the subject of planning consent; and if he will make a statement. [48572]

Mr. Caborn

Local authorities may attach conditions to planning permissions for new developments and these may extend to the design and operation of lighting systems. For existing buildings, however, the courts have ruled that floodlighting cannot be a planning matter, because light itself is not "development" and there would be no feasible means of assessing it for enforcement purposes. We give advice on floodlighting in Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 'Sport and Recreation'. The guide issued last year jointly by my Department and the Countryside Commission, 'Lighting in the Countryside: Towards good practice', also gives guidance on what can be done to lessen the intrusive effects of lighting schemes associated with development.