In the loop

01-02-2009

Good evening and Iâd like to thank you all for coming out on this cold evening. As youâre aware, the lighting surrounding this building needs be improved, with a view to reducing the carbon footprint without compromising the situation for the people working here. Itâs my job this evening to give the local residents â thatâs you â a chance to see whatâs being proposed.

To help things along, weâve prepared this plan to show where ...... yes, this is a plan of the entire site. Now, you can see from ...... no, this is the main entrance here, where you drove into the site. Yes, the planâs upside down; apologies for that. Iâll just turn it round. Is that OK for you on the other side of the table?

Now. Where was I? You can see the location of the three car parks around the main building. Of course, the car parks are already well-lit but lighting technology and design standards have moved on so ......... yes, thatâs one of the car parks that you can see out of the window. No, not that one. Itâs this one, on the other side of the plan.

Actually, this is very useful because, being such a misty evening, you can see one of the things that will be improved. That rosy glow that you can see from the lanterns demonstrates how wasteful of energy a light fitting can be. The new lanterns will be much more efficient and ........ yes, youâre right. That glow around the lantern can be very attractive .... like a Christmas card, exactly. Unfortunately, it costs money and energy to create that effect and it doesnât do anyone any good, as any amateur astronomers here can testify ........ no, I wasnât anticipating there being any astronomers here ....no, I wasnât being sarcastic. Light pollution was originally raised by the astronomy community, thatâs why I mentioned it.

Yes, taking the lighting away entirely would solve that issue, but itâs not realistic is it? Of course cars have headlights and pedestrians could wear hi-viz jackets and carry torches â in fact, thatâs not the first time Iâve heard that suggestion â but thatâs not the answer. My client feels they have a responsibility towards both staff and to visitors and the ability to see and be seen is vitally important ..... what? no, youâre thinking of the old TV campaign to âwear something light at nightâ. âClunk-clickâ was Jimmy Saville, wasnât it? No, Iâm sure Kevin Keegan did the Green Cross Code thing. I donât think that had much to do with lighting. Unless you happen to run over a pedestrian ............ Thank you for your time. I really have to go now.