Maylands residents dark about proposed floodlights at De Lacy Reserve

MAYLANDS residents have reiterated their concerns over proposed field lights at De Lacy Reserve after the City of Bayswater called a community workshop on the issue.

Last year two smaller lights were removed and a subsequent tender awarded for four larger replacement poles sparked a petition from nearby residents who were not consulted.

They were mainly concerned with increased traffic, lack of parking bays, light pollution and antisocial behaviour if the lights were installed and the park used at night.

The City of Bayswater this year ruled out the larger Gibbney Reserve as an alternative for lighting as it would be too expensive.

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A community meeting set to be held this month, which will “build an understanding of the need for replacement lighting” according to a letter sent to residents.

Helen Bemmerl of Maylands said 140 people signed the petition last year and called on Gibbney Reserve to be reconsidered as an alternative.

“Some 140 people are saying we don’t want the lights,” she said.

“Largely, parking is an issue because at De Lacy there are only 21 parking bays.

“The lights were frequently left on and shone into some people’s bedrooms.”

She said Gibbney Reserve was “triple” the size, had 72 parking bays and recently upgraded grounds and clubrooms.

Fellow Maylands resident Gareth Davies said he would prefer a “quiet life” and did not want the lights to be installed.

“I thought the issue had been knocked on the head,” Mr Davies said.

He said Bayswater City Soccer Club juniors trained at the oval, which is also used for cricket in summer.

Mayor Barry McKenna said the current lighting did not meet the national minimum standard for training and the City was looking at the replacing it so it complied.

“We want to work with residents to look at how this might be achieved in a way that takes account of their concerns and also means lighting can be brought up to contemporary standards,” he said.

“The workshop is about providing information to the community about why the replacement lighting is needed and working with residents to identify solutions to concerns they have expressed around traffic, parking, light spill and increased usage of the reserve.

The workshop date has not been set.