Latest news with #floodlights
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Monkspath car park floodlights decision delayed as councillors raise concerns
Councillors have delayed their decision on already installed floodlights near a small Monkspath shopping centre car park saying they want more information. As the Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported the row over the four metre high lighting columns surrounding electric charging points installed on the car park near the parade of shops at Shelly Shopping Centre in Farmhouse Way has been rumbling on for months. In the original application planning agents JMS Planning and Development had explained the applicant wanted retrospective approval for the floodlighting, stressing the installation of reflectors to direct light downward and reduce light spill would mitigate the impact on neighbours. READ MORE: Solihull village's 85 new homes hit snag as concerns raised over 'towering' buildings Get the latest court and crime news direct via our WhatsApp community here But in June's public consultation residents had lodged objections saying the lights impacted the character of the area and were 'very obtrusive'. The matter went before Solihull Council planning committee's latest meeting where ward councillor Ken Hawkins said: 'I can't remember the last time I came to the committee to object to anything. 'The issue is the amount of the light to be emitted. 'These lights, I was told when they were working, had a negative impact on the people who live opposite.' Solihull Council planning officers had recommended for approval subject to conditions including having motion sensors on the lights. In the members debate Councillor Bob Grinsell, the chairman of the committee, said: 'I'm surprised that a developer of this nature has chosen to install this without seeking planning permission in the first place. 'I asked to visit the site at night (to see the lights switched on) – I was told I can't because there is no electricity. 'It's not good enough. 'We need to see these, we can not make an accurate assessment of the effect.' Officer Mark Andrews, the council's head of planning, design and engagement services, suggested the lights could be switched on for a trial period and assessed before coming back to the committee for an extension. Coun Grinsell said: 'If it's a trial period, it's going to be a very short period in my view.' Councillor David Cole said: 'You are asking to make a decision without seeing it – I'd rather be there on the site and see what's happening, then I can make an objective decision.' Councillor James Bradley said: 'Do we have any information about how these charging points are expected to operate. 'Do we have any indication what the expected levels of use of these at night time is?' Councillor Dave Pinwell then said: 'We don't have enough information to understand what the justification for this is and the way it would be used.' The chairman moved to a vote on deferring the vote to get more information, with eight councillors voting in favour and one against. The meeting took place at the Civic Suite on Wednesday, (August 13).
The Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Non-league clash abandoned with SECONDS remaining as stadium plunged into darkness
A NON-LEAGUE match was abandoned on Tuesday when some floodlights lost power just moments before full-time. The Isthmian League Premier Division clash between Welling United and Aveley could not be completed at Park View Road due to the bizarre issue. 2 2 With Aveley 1-0 up in the 10th minute of added time, the stadium was plunged into darkness. Welling announced on social media that half of the floodlights had lost power. The match was temporarily suspended while those working at the club attempted to get them back on. However, just before 10pm, the club revealed that nothing could be done and the referee called for the match to be abandoned. Welling then confirmed: "A decision will be made by the league in due course as to whether the result stands." Following the match, manager Lee Martin said: "It goes down as an abandonment and then it'll be submitted to the league and they'll make the decision on that moving forward. "It's just a waiting game really." Meanwhile, Aveley boss Brett Munyard said: "I'm a bit speechless. I thought we played really well. "We deserved to win. Obviously there were seven minutes added on and the floodlights went out with 15 seconds to go, so hopefully a bit of common sense will prevail. "It's certainly put a dampner on it." Aveley currently sit ninth in the league table, with Welling down in 20th. Should the result from Tuesday's fixture stand, Aveley will move into the top three.
CNA
07-08-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Dear Singapore, your girls playing football want more than applause — they want momentum
Dear Singapore, Yesterday, I saw a girl playing football at a park near my house. It was late, the kind of hour when dinner plates are cleared and day turns to night. She was alone under floodlights, just her and a football, with her bicycle parked neatly by the park. She wasn't doing anything fancy — just touches, turns, juggling. Focused. Steady. No phone, no coach, no noise. The quiet rhythm of practice. I stood there for a while, not to intrude, but because she reminded me of someone I used to know. Me. On weekdays after school. On Saturday mornings. And the times I had to spare. Sometimes my brother would join me. But oftentimes it was just me and a football — and a big, audacious dream. You wouldn't have looked twice at me then. A small, tan-skinned child on an empty pitch. No spectacle. No spotlight. Just one girl believing she could do something that hadn't quite been done yet. Singapore, you weren't built for people like me. Not at first. Not for the girl who wanted to play football professionally. Not for the girl who said 'no' to the expected route and 'yes' to a life on the move, on the margins, chasing something as uncertain as it was beautiful. But Singapore was where it started. Where I learnt to fight through humidity and homework, where I learnt to run harder because no one thought I should even be on the pitch. Where I learnt that dreams don't always shout — they persist. Quietly. Daily. In floodlit parks and on concrete courts, in the early mornings and on aching legs. They keep going even when no one is watching. Especially then. That's what I wish more people knew about this life. Not the headlines or the milestones, not the signings or firsts. But the in-betweens. The airports and cold nights in foreign cities. The games where your touch is off and the critics are loud. The training sessions that test not only your body but your belief. The long walks home with your head down, wondering if it's still all worth it. And then you see a girl under floodlights, alone with a ball, and you remember why you started. I've had the honour of being the first Singaporean woman to play in a European league. The first Singaporean to win a European league and cup title. And every time I walk out onto a pitch, I do it knowing I carry more than just my own story. I carry the weight and wonder of every young girl who dares to believe that she can too. That's why I'm writing to you. Singapore, I don't want applause, I want momentum. I want little girls to stop being the exception when they show up on the pitch. I want them to be seen, supported, coached, celebrated — not after they leave the country but before. Not after they win something, but because they dared to try. We need fields where girls don't feel as if they're intruding. We need coaches who see potential, not difference. We need schools that nurture sport not as a side project but as a valid, vital dream. Because that girl at the park yesterday? She's already choosing this life. She's already falling in love with the game in the purest way. And if we let her, she'll go far.
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Third Test's day-night format should feel like home turf for Australia in Kingston
It's a strange concept, in a region known for sunshine, to end a Caribbean tour with a day-night Test. It's stranger still to choose Kingston, Jamaica, a venue that until a couple of months ago didn't even have floodlights. Up until two days before the match, there has been local conjecture about whether they would be adequate for the match, with a chance that plans would have to be changed. But one day out, the lights have been announced fit by sports minister Olivia Grange. Putting the pieces together, it's likely related to Jamaica's upcoming election and a sitting government that has worn plenty of whacks for not supporting cricket, having refused to bid for matches at last year's T20 World Cup citing expense. A cricket spectacle might be an attempt to recover some ground. It helps that Mexico, Canada, and the USA have host qualification for next year's football World Cup, opening up a potential spot for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz, who have also used Sabina Park recently. Barbados would have been the natural fit for a nocturnal venue, with its established lighting and its nightlife giving a higher chance of drawing a local crowd. In Jamaica, pessimism about attendance abounds. CWI chief executive, Chris Dehring, was downbeat on regional radio about local sales. The bulk of the Australian tour group members went home after the second Test in Grenada. Half of Sabina Park's seating will be closed to save costs. University students have been promised free entry, while a slate of Caribbean musicians have been hired to perform in the hope that people who wouldn't come for cricket will come for a party. But the bigger discouragement for West Indies as a cricket team might be the format. Yes, they knocked over Australia in a pink-ball match in Brisbane, but their batting having already been shot out inside 35 overs twice in the series by Australia's quicks, and the pink Dukes ball is reportedly doing far more in the nets this week than the pink Kookaburra generally does. West Indies have only hosted one pink-ball match before, Bridgetown in 2018, won after Sri Lanka's quicks ripped up the home side in the third innings for 93. Three of those players survive in the current team, compared to Australia's squad of relative experts. Of 23 day-night Tests around the world so far, the Australians have hosted 13. Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon have played every one. With them, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood make up the four highest wicket-takers in the variant format. Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, and the benched Marnus Labuschagne are four of the top five run-scorers. Even accounting for variation in ball and conditions, the format in general will feel more like home turf for the visiting side. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion That said, if the ball does talk then it could make things interesting. Australia's underperforming batting has been bailed out by their bowling in both Tests so far, and a session of carnage in a low-scoring game could throw things open. Khawaja, Sam Konstas and Cameron Green, assuming there are no changes, still need runs. The series may be decided but every Test match counts. For West Indies, the batting plan might shift to one of full-blown attack. After a second embarrassing finish in Grenada, captain Roston Chase spoke of wanting his player to embrace the old idea of 'Calypso cricket', and judging by the nets this week they have taken that to mean smashing the cork out of every possible ball. This way, if they get bowled out in two sessions, they might at least have made a halfway decent score first. If those two sessions happen to be on day one, with the evening session to bowl, it could make things interesting. Or perhaps all the day-night talk will prove to be hype, as we've seen plenty of times before, with the ball settling quickly and the runs racking up. Either way is OK, as long as the lights turn on.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Historic moment' for football club as floodlights installed after 28-year wait
Ian Johnson, with James and Kim Prestwood completing the fitting of the lights . (Image: Trevor Porter) Floodlights have been installed at Trowbridge Town Football Club's ground after a 28-year battle. Trowbridge Town Football Club - known as 'The Bees' - says it has been fighting "tooth and nail" to get lights installed at the club. Advertisement The club has a 125-year history that includes competing in the Football Conference and Southern League at its peak in the 1980s. However, in the late 1990s, its town centre ground was sold, and the club was relaunched after a one-year hiatus at Woodmarsh. It became the only County Town in England without a floodlit football facility. Now the 28-year wait is finally over, as £65,000 floodlights have been installed at its Woodmarsh ground. The money was given to the club by Trowbridge Town Council in 2023, after an agreement was reached with Wiltshire Council for the use of the cash. Ian Johnson, with James and Kim Prestwood completing the fitting of the lights .(Image: Trevor Porter) 'These facilities will mean we can get promoted and get back to where we belong – unlike in 2023, when we were Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division Champions but could not go up due to the lack of lights and other features," said Trowbridge Town FC chairman Andy Meaden. Advertisement 'Now we will have a ground worthy of the County Town's main football club and we can start to progress back to higher leagues." A spokesperson for the club added: "A day that some said would never happen, but we've fought tooth and nail, and the club has done what it set out to do. "There are so many people to thank, and we intend to do so soon - but right now, we just want to take it all in. Sports lighting specialist Kim Prestwood completing the fitting of the lights (Image: Trevor Porter) The floodlights have been 28 years in the making (Image: Trevor Porter) "We've waited 28 years and we're going to enjoy every second of this. Let's get to work. Advertisement "The project at The Stairway Joinery Ground will continue over the summer, and we look forward to updating supporters on the next phase of the project soon." The new floodlights have been met with enthusiasm by residents who claim it's a "historic moment" for the town club. Recommended reading: "10 years ago, I sat on a committee meeting when the main concern was whether U7 and U8 matches should be postponed," said resident Tim Gingell. "Roll on 10 years and floodlights have appeared! Massive amount of work by a lot of people but the last two years have been driven by Andy Meaden who has got what his efforts deserved." Advertisement Jeff Hooper added: "Good stuff Andy and your team, History makers."
