Lichfield Rugby Club wants six 15m LED floodlight masts at Tamworth Road, lit until 10pm daily. Comments close 20 October; the parish counts 11 homes nearby.
Lichfield Rugby Club has applied to put up six 15-metre floodlight columns at its ground off Tamworth Road. The application proposes using the lit pitch from 9am to 10pm, seven days a week, so teams can train and play on dark evenings.
The application went on Lichfield District Council’s planning register on 29 September, under reference 26/01172/FUL. Anyone can comment until 20 October. The council’s deadline to decide it is 24 November.
What the club is asking for
The design and access statement was written by Sports Labs, a Livingston firm. It says Sports Labs and Halliday Lighting were appointed on behalf of the Rugby Football Union to make the application. The plans include:
- six columns, 15 metres tall, on masts that can be raised and lowered
- Siteco FL11 LED floodlights fitted with back cowls to cut spill
- lighting to the RFU’s standard of an average 200 lux on the pitch
- a dimming setting, so training can run at lower levels than matches
- access for building work via Heath Road, with part of the car park used as a compound
- no building work expected on Sundays or bank holidays
The lights would go around part of an existing grass pitch. The club already has floodlights on the pitch next to it, and the statement says those foundations show the ground is suitable. It says the new system will spill “significantly less” light around the pitch.
How close the homes are
The lighting impact assessment by Halliday Lighting puts the nearest homes on Tamworth Road about 60 metres south of the pitch. It says spill light is “cut off sharply” at the site boundary. It also puts the upward light from the system at 0%, so no direct glow into the night sky.
The scheme is designed for environmental zone E2 in the Institution of Lighting Professionals’ guidance. The design statement says that makes it suitable for a rural landscape with low background brightness. Its calculations ignore the shading from mature trees on the site, so it calls them a worst case.
What has been said so far
Two consultation responses had been published by 8 October.
- Staffordshire County Council’s highways team (2 October) asked only that the light sources be shielded to avoid glare for road users.
- Whittington and Fisherwick Parish Council (5 October) raised no objection. Its response describes a 10pm curfew on the lights. It also counts 11 homes on Tamworth Road as likely to be affected. Nothing in the application shows those householders were told about it, the parish says, and if they have not been “then it should be undertaken as soon as possible”.
What it means for you
- If you live on Tamworth Road or Heath Road, you can read the lighting plan and comment on the application page until 20 October. The council takes comments on planning grounds such as light, noise and traffic.
- If you play or coach at the club, approval would mean evening training and matches under new LED lights on this pitch, up to 10pm.
- If the council approves it, it can set conditions on hours and light levels. We will report the decision, which is due by 24 November.
Other live applications across the district are in our Lichfield planning news round-up.
Have your say