scope:

The objective of this document is to provide a common basis for assessment of the potential obtrusiveness of the effects from the lighting of developments that involve the provision of outdoor lighting. It includes limits for the relevant light technical parameters to control these effects. As the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting are best controlled by appropriate design, this document is primarily applicable to new systems. This document specifically refers to the potentially adverse effects of outdoor lighting on nearby residents (e.g. of dwellings such as houses, hotels, hospitals), transport system users (e.g. pilots, water craft operators, train drivers, motorists, cyclists), transport signalling systems (e.g. air, marine, rail), astronomical observations and environmentally sensitive areas.

The document does not apply to the following:

(a) Lighting for entertainment and festivals that is designed for a performance or an event that operates outside of curfew hours, and for a regularly occurring event that operates for an interval of not more than 30 min each night, excluding sports lighting.

(b) Emergency warning, way finding lights/marker lights, navigation lights, all traffic signals, traffic signage and vehicle headlights, including working lights mounted on moving vehicles and plant.

(c) Lighting for aviation safety.

(d) Flags that are required to be lit at night by government protocol, see Appendix D.

This document does not apply to the following unless specified by the relevant authority:

(i) Public lighting, as defined in 1.3.24. (see Section 4).

(ii) Temporary lighting other than that stated in item (a), operating for less than one month,

This document does not apply to the following unless the lighting scheme impacts environmentally sensitive areas, or observatories:

(A) Lighting chains and other small lighting systems and devices, for example budlighting, fairy lights, festoon lighting, where the individual lights emit less than 30 lm and has a total luminous flux of less than 20 000 lm that operates in the non-curfew period.

(B) The upward light limits for lighting of approved public artworks.

(C) The upward light limits for lighting of the facades of classified heritage buildings and objects.

This document does not apply to temporary sports lighting, including that for televised coverage.

The above exemptions do not override regulatory and environmental legislation.

This document does not apply to impacts associated with the aesthetic or obtrusive daytime appearance of outdoor lighting systems, including their support structures.

While conformance with this document will afford general environmental benefit by reducing sky glow and light spill, the management of artificial light for the protection of specific entities protected by environmental legislation is beyond the scope of this document due to the diversity of impact pathways, species-specific behavioural and physiological responses of organisms and ecosystems to artificial light, and the potential for listed entities to be found in all environmental zones. As there are no agreed light thresholds at which it has been demonstrated that protected species will not be significantly impacted, biological monitoring would be required to demonstrate that the objectives of environmental legislation had been met. Environmental impact assessment is beyond the scope of this document. Where protected entities are likely to be significantly impacted by artificial light, a risk-assessed and adaptive management approach should be undertaken to assess the impacts to protected species or ecological communities. Further guidance for environmental impact assessment is provided in Appendix C.

This document is intended for reference by the following:

(1) Relevant operators and authorities; such as building and infrastructure owners, industry plant operators, planning bodies, local government and transport control authorities etc, to assist in assessing and mitigating the potential obtrusiveness of both shielded and unshielded outdoor lighting systems.

(2) Specifiers, designers, and installers of outdoor lighting systems, as an aid to producing lighting systems that control obtrusive effects to limits defined in this document.

NOTE Appendix B provides guidance on the documentation that may be required by planning bodies, in order to facilitate assessment of a proposed lighting scheme.