# “Energy-Saving Initiative: Switch Off Lights in City of London’s Skyscrapers at Night”

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/%e2%80%9cenergy-saving-initiative-switch-off-lights-in-city-of-london%e2%80%99s-skyscrapers-at-night%e2%80%9d/4121105323
- Published: 2023-02-13T11:04:53+00:00
- Author: Anthony Fox

The City of London Corporation is proposing a new Lighting Supplementary Planning
Document (SPD) that could see London’s famous skyscrapers and other landmarks dimming
or switching off their lights overnight in a bid to conserve energy. The SPD will
provide guidance to developers on the design, delivery, operation, and maintenance
of artificial lighting in the City of London, which covers the major trading and
finance hub around the 1.12 square miles known as the Square Mile.

The proposals could see 30 Saint Mary’s Axe (The Gherkin), The Fenchurch Building(
The Walkie Talkie) and other famous landmarks lower their lighting in the evening.
The City proposes the creation of three types of ‘brightness zones’ with slightly
earlier curfews set at 10pm for residential and heritage areas, 11pm for cultural
and tourist areas, and midnight for commercial, retail, and transport hubs. Existing
buildings would be ‘encouraged’ to adopt the new plans and sign up to a voluntary
charter to improve lighting amid the local authority’s aim for the Square Mile to
reach carbon net zero by 2040.

The consultation runs until Friday, February 17 and City of London Corporation planning
and transportation committee chairman Shravan Joshi says: ‘The strategy laid out
in this document is aimed at ensuring an intelligent, sensitive approach to lighting
which ensures the City is safe and accessible, while protecting its historic character
and the amenity of our residents.’

The SPD also covers the installation of red safety lights that would remain on overnight
to ensure public safety. Along with providing advice on lighting buildings, streets,
and places, the City of London Corporation is also taking steps to tackle air pollution
in the Square Mile, including closing certain roads and developing a one-way system
near Bank station.

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