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Photo taken from the public path inside Waiatarua Reserve showing visual effect of floodlight towers.

Some Meadowbank residents have expressed surprise and a strong dissatisfaction with the floodlights that were recently installed in the Remuera Golf Club at the eastern boundary with the Waiatarua Reserve. These lights are large, tall and (some might say ugly) industrial metal structures that intrude on both the day and night views of residents who live near the golf club and Waiatarua Reserve, as well as the many people who walk, jog and cycle in the reserve. There have been some comments that the lights are more suited to a stadium such as Eden Park rather than a suburban golf course adjacent to an ecological reserve.

The Waiatarua Reserve is an area of ecological standing in Auckland and is equivalent to a conservation area. It is one the few places where native bush has been planted for many years to create a small native forest habitat and food sources for our native wildlife, and is a much valued green space for city dwellers within the central city. These artificial floodlights disturb the habitat for birds and have adverse effects on the development of trees. The Unitary Plan requires under Section E24 Lighting, that lighting in a conservation zone should be Lighting Category 1 (intrinsically dark). An un-notified resource consent was granted for these lights in 2013 and we note that the consent acknowledges that the land at Waiatarua Reserve is in a Significant Ecological Area and a Flow 2 Volcanic View shaft and Height Sensitive Area. Troy Churton, the Planning and Consents Porfolio Lead for Orakei Local Board (OLB) over the last few terms, recalls commenting against the effects of light spill.

The lights are much taller than nearby trees and are not in keeping with the natural environment of the Waiatarua Reserve nor the golf course itself. Nearby residents (including the members of the nearby rest home in Gerard Way as we heard at our February monthly meeting) are disturbed by the lighting at night. There is light spill into the Reserve, so extensive that you can see the reflection of the lights in the open area of water near the Towle Place entrance and shadows are created within the reserve. According to the resource consent giving approval to install the lights in 2013:

• the light spill will be less than minor;
• light will only be spread towards the golf course driving range;
• there will be no adverse effects on the streetscape;
• the height and scale of the lighting poles will not be visually obtrusive;
• there will be less than minor adverse effects in terms of outlook or visual amenity;
• the floodlights will have less than minor effects on the reserve; and
• within two months of commencing operation of the floodlights the Golf Club is obliged to undertake lighting measurements and provide a validation report to Auckland Council.

Thanks to Troy Churton from the OLB for providing the resource consent documents and background to the floodlight’s construction, as well as ensuring that Council has been alerted to the need to monitor the resource consent conditions. “I expect to have the results of monitoring of resource consent conditions in the next few days” says Troy, “and I will be vigilant in getting that information and scrutinising it with my fellow portfolio deputies Colin Davis and David Wong”.

Via Troy we have ascertained that:

• The Golf Club acted to get the land owner approval just within the five year grant of consent, a necessary further step as the floodlights are on Council land.
• Landowner approval was given for two years.
• The OLB raised various concerns about light spill etc when landowner consent was sought but there was little that could be done to argue against granting land owner approval given the existence of the resource consent and advice received about broader compliance under the unitary plan.

Our questions are:

• Are the lights that have been installed what was expected when the consent was granted? Is Council satisfied that these lights meet the resource consent criteria?
• Given the significant impact of the light structures in the daytime and lighting at night, should this consent have been publicly notified?
• Why are such tall intrusive lights required? Is this appropriate for a green space golf course? If so (and we strongly contest this) could the golf course not have installed lights closer to the ground that do not intrude of the views from the Reserve and other neighbours, and do not disturb the ecological habitat of the Reserve?

We also look forward to seeing the results of the lighting measurement report due by late March 2019. Troy has undertaken to share these with us as soon as he can. Have a look at the picture below taken in the reserve and you can clearly see the shadows cast by the flax and the dog on the ground from the golf club floodlights. In our opinion this is not good enough and we will be following this issue closely. If you think the effects of these floodlights are not OK please contact us with your thoughts and feel free to also email the Remuera Golf Club

These shadows do not show less than minor light spill