Neighbours next to sports pitch claim floodlights keeping kids awake at night

Neighbours living by a school are demanding it removes sports pitch floodlights amid claims they stop children from sleeping.

Residents said they have complained about them for years, but concerns have intensified since a report said they were different from those granted approval.

A report published in 2024 by lighting consultants, The Lighting Bee, was sent to resident Tim Pearson after he made a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) to the council.

Pearson said he had fought against the lights - at Cefn Saeson comprehensive school in Cimla, Neath, which he branded a "total nuisance" - since they were put up, as they had lit up neighbouring homes and gardens.

He said: "People were finding it distressing because you'd have children that couldn't sleep at the rear of the properties where their bedrooms were, due to the amount of light pollution that was coming in.

"Even those that didn't have young children found it a total nuisance because it was completely illuminating their gardens."

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said the lights had made night feel like day.

Lighting Bee said the lights had been installed under less stringent rules than they should have been.

They had been put up as part of a new school development for Cefn Saeson Comprehensive in 2021.

Lighting Bee's report said different lights had been installed to those approved "for which a design and assessment has not been prepared/provided".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service a council officer said in an email they had believed lighting levels in some properties had contributed to a statutory nuisance under Environmental Health Legislation.

While some residents said things had improved since two lights were turned off in January 2024, they said they would like them removed.

Neath Port Talbot Council said it was aware of concerns and that lighting would not be used while inquiries were made.

It said: "The impact of the floodlighting was considered as part of the planning application process and the development was assessed against the relevant planning requirements.

"The council is aware of concerns raised by residents and continues to engage with those concerns where appropriate."