Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Atherton Gardens redevelopment

Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (09:57): Children at Dill-be-din and Kangaroo Paw kindergartens, both in Fitzroy, have asked me questions about the floodlights on top of the Atherton Gardens flats. In circle time they are learning about ideas of home and sustainability, so they are confused about why these floodlights are on 24 hours a day. Scarlett said:

When the light is on we can’t go to sleep, because it’s too bright.

Hamza said:

When it’s night time. (it could be on) daytime I turn off the light.

Lois asked:

Can your Mum turn it off?

Thoughtful questions also came from Georgia and Achut. Residents of the estate have told me that the light is so bright that it floods their bedrooms even when the blinds are drawn, and residents who live 800 metres away in the next suburbs have also told me that it bothers them at night. This is a problem firstly from an energy and light pollution standpoint, as the kindy kids rightly point out, and secondly in terms of the disruption to residents. Why are these lights on 24 hours a day, and why are they so bright? What can be done so that residents near and far can sleep at night without bright lights flooding in through their windows?