New Street Lighting for Winchester - TrustNews June 10
The County Council is embarking on a programme of replacing most of its street lighting throughout the county. It has promised to consult with the Trust before deciding on types of lights to use in the Winchester Conservation Area. There is a complete mixture of lights within the area at present, ranging from modified Victorian gas lights, replica antique lights and lights from most periods of the 20th century. Many are said to be very inefficient by modern standards, cause upward light pollution and are in poor condition.
The Trust would welcome your views on these replacements. You might say “Why try and replicate Victorian lights in a medieval city?”; “Let’s have the very best of modern design”; “Let’s keep the best of what we’ve got”. Please tell us what you like and dislike and we will try to reflect your views. [Comments to the secretary please].
Work in Winchester is programmed for 2012. The County Council has produced a comprehensive policy document and specification for this project. In the context of conservation areas they say:
If “period style” lanterns are used, care should be taken to match historical periods, for which consultation with the Local Planning Authority is essential. However, it is also necessary to maintain a harmony of style, as far as possible, as different lantern types may produce a cluttered and unplanned effect.
Where a modern style of fitting is proposed this, together with its control gear, must be recessive in design and colour and be sited so as to be “invisible” as far as possible during the daytime. This is of particular importance in areas where buildings are of diverse historical and architectural character. Such fittings should be simple and of appropriate shape, colour and scale to the architectural setting.
There is a general presumption towards using, as far as possible, lanterns that minimise light pollution of the night sky. Much more information can be found at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/roads/street-lighting.htm.