State Commission Assessment Panel defers decision on Kooyonga Golf Club light towers

Residents are objecting to an exclusive golf club’s plans to install 12 lighting towers, with one claiming street lighting increases the risk of breast cancer.

The proposed lighting at the Kooyonga Golf Course driving range. Picture: Supplied

Plans by one of Adelaide’s most exclusive golf clubs to install 12 light towers have ended up in the rough.

The State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) has ordered Kooyonga Golf Club to provide more information on the glare which will be created by the proposed lights.

Residents near the private 18-hole course at Lockleys have complained about the proposal, with one even claiming street lights have been linked to breast cancer.

Three property owners addressed SCAP members at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, arguing the club’s proposal would result in eight 15m poles and four 10m poles with high-strength LED lights erected on a 500m stretch opposite their homes on May Tce.

The club wanted to use the lights to illuminate its driving range and practice putting green until 11pm, seven days a week, and during tournaments such as the Australian Women’s Open.

Champion golfer Karrie Webb has appeared at the Australian’s Womens Open at Kooyona Golf Course. Picture: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

It engaged consultants who said their glare would be minimal because of trees and shrubbery along the golf course’s eastern boundary.

This was disputed by residents Stephen Donaldson, Ben de Jonge and Yayoi de Jonge, who said the lights would not only directly shine into nearby properties but disturb wildlife such as birds, marsupials and bats.

In a report to SCAP, planning consultant Daniel McKenna said a company, Sports Lighting SA, had been engaged by the golf club.

“As demonstrated in Sports Lighting SA’s assessment, no unreasonable impacts on residential dwellings are forecast as a result of the proposed lighting when assessed against Australian Standards,” he said.

This was disputed by SCAP, which deferred its decision until the club looked at the “potential for the installation of west and south facing light poles only to reduce glare impact on residents of May Tce”.