Details
HISTORIC CONSERVATION AND PARKLEYS Parkleys was designed by architect Eric Lyons in the 1950s, and the gardens by Ivor Cunningham, a landscape architect who joined Lyon's practice in 1955. Parkleys became the first major development by SPAN, a collaboration between Lyons and developer Geoffrey Townsend. Lyons promoted the seamless integration of the landscape with the architecture, eschewing private gardens for shared external spaces in which there are no physical barriers between the buildings and the landscape. The use of interlinked courtyards, continuous glazing, and glazed doors and screens, promote transparency between the interior and exterior landscape. These qualities were recognised when Parkleys was listed in 1998, and designated a conservation area in 2003. The street lighting and furniture are an integral part of this vision. CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE Parkleys benefits from its adjacency to Ham Common Woods Local Nature Reserve. This is reflected in the influx of wildlife from the Woods, particularly in the variety of birds and also bats which can be seen darting through the gardens at dusk during the summer months. The bats are known to roost in Parkleys roof spaces. The Bat Conservation Trust encourages the use of 2700-3000k LED lights, highlighting the negative impact cold, blue spectrum lighting has on the behaviour of bats roosting and feeding. GLAZING AND LIGHT POLLUTION Parkleys residents have already experienced the negative effects of the cold, harsh 4000k LED lights where they have been installed to replace faulty fittings. The Residents' Society has for a number years challenged the street lighting team to use 3000k lights to counter this issue, and select an appropriate light befitting of the listing and conservation area status of the estate. Parkleys is a modernist design characterised by linear glazing. In contrast to a Victorian house, flats typically have 10 linear metres of glazing spanning the living room, dining room and bedroom. The street lights are only 5-6 metres from the windows and their height coincides with that of the first floor windows. The 4000k lamps emit a cold and harsh white light which is visually uncomfortable, and penetrates the living and sleeping spaces inside the flats. Research by Public health England indicates that bright LED light can disrupt sleeping patterns. (It is one of the reasons we are advised not to read our smart phones at bedtime.) These lights, or lanterns, emit light horizontally through 360 degrees. In response to a complaint by one resident at Parkleys who has been directly affected by these lamps, the lighting team fitted a baffle in an attempt to shield flat from the light source. The baffle did not improve the situation. The Parkleys Residents' Society is concerned that Richmond Council now propose to install 4000k LED street lights across the whole estate, whilst the adjacent Ham Farm Road which falls inside the Parkleys Estate Conservation Areas has been allocated 3000k lights.
Started by: Nigel Bailey (on behalf of Parkleys Residents' Society)
This petition ran from 07/10/2020 to 07/01/2021.
Council response
The roads listed below surround and are adjacent to Ham Common Woods (a Common, Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance of Nature Conservation) as well as being next to Richmond Park (a Special Area of Conservation, a National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Site of Metropolitan Importance of Nature Conservation) will have 3000K LED street lights; these roads are also part of Richmond Conservation area number 7:
Roads - Ham Gate Avenue, Church Road, Ham Farm Road, The Shires, Ham Common , Ham Street , Latchmere Lane, Ham Ridings, Cowper Road and Beard Road
Signatures
58 people have signed this petition.
