KEY POINTS:
Douglas Track & Field in Henderson will get floodlights despite residents' concerns about glare and noisy late-night events disturbing their sleep.
Waitakere City Stadium Trust has won resource consent to erect four of the 28m-high floodlights at the Central Park Drive site, which is next to the trust's
stadium complex. The all-weather running track and sports field were developed two years ago and a grandstand was built last year.
Waitakere City Council is offering the trust's complex as a training venue for international teams for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Council officers told a consent hearing by an independent commissioner that Henderson Creek gave a substantial buffer between the site and residential streets. The streets are 150m to 200m from the field at the closest point.
Residents could expect light spill from the field to be similar to "strong moonlight" and even houses with a view of the site would not suffer a noticeable glare. However, consultants recommended lights out between 11pm and 7am the following day and this is a condition of the consent and will be monitored by the council.
Primary use of floodlights will be for special events because of high electricity costs, said a council report.
"Artificial lighting, particularly in residential areas, can be of such a level that it reduces people's ability to sleep and to the detriment of the health and wellbeing of residents, and to the general loss of a night-time sky."
Officers believed this would not occur because lighting levels met standards required by the district plan. All activities and loudspeaker systems must comply with noise standards, though there would be a limited number of "special noise events and pyrotechnic events".
Residents' views of the lighting towers would be softened by planting.
One of the 15 residents who expressed concerns to the council about lights and noise was Hugh Fendall. Last night, he said that the least the council could do was to end light use at 10pm on Sunday to Thursday.
"But they've ignored me and gone for an 11pm finish anyway."
Resident William Chapman said he was unhappy at the hearing result.
"We get a fair amount of noise from over there already and the floodlights going in means night events which are going to interfere with our peace and quiet and a hell of a lot of glare.
"Most of Sylvan Cres can see the site so we will be in a direct line of fire."
