Bedford Park Society Battle Over Heritage Street Lamps

Hounslow Council have started installing lamps that they say are too high

Bedford Park Society has clashed with Hounslow Council on the new street lights being installed in their conservation area.

Hounslow Highways has started installing new street lighting columns in Bedford Park. The columns are one metre (20%) higher than the ones they are replacing despite the Council’s assurances that the columns would be the same height.

The Bedford Park Society (BPS) has been working with the Council for the last few years, urging them to adopt the recommendations of the expert report the Society commissioned in 2015, which raised concerns about glare, light pollution, bulb colour and aesthetics.

A statement from the BPS said that keeping the same height of lighting column is important, particularly in a conservation area. Taller streetlights alter the aesthetics of the street, look out of proportion with the houses and affect the balance between the columns and the lantern details.

Additionally, if the lanterns are too tall they can be lost in the canopy of tress so are ineffective and can also shine directly into front bedrooms.

The Society has been in urgent discussion with the Council and Hounslow Highways and, as a result, they are investigating the best way to reduce the height of the columns. In the meantime the programme of installing the new columns appears to have been halted. The Society is continuing to monitor the position and maintain its dialogue with the Council.

Councillor John Todd said: "Having pursuaded Hounslow Council to install high quality heritage lighting, we expected like-for-like lamp posts. The oversize ones now fitted look like runway approach lighting. They've promised to rectify."

September 15, 2017