So we moved into our new home last year and the outside street has no lighting.
I do not want lights on the street outside but im told I have no choice in the matter.
Does anyone have any input into how i can go about finding out my rights as i dont like to close the shutters at night but a street light will pump way too much light into the house at nights.
I do not want to just challenge them without facts and none of our neighbours know if i can stop it as none of them have ever tried to say no. There used to be one when they originally put up the lights many years ago but apparently the old house owner took a grinder to it and cut it down. hahahaha
Yes the added bonus would be our dog garden lit up better and save me using my lights but so many negatives like looking out side at the stars and watching wildlife in the fields move about in natural moonlight.
What a problem Street light are necessary for our safety. I would not feel safe without Street light in our village the lights are turned off at 1am.
Harry have you thought atout having double thick curtains which will block out the street light.i dont Think the mayor Will accept your plea but if you invite him for a aperitif you never know.
ive spoken with him already we are friends and are very much a part of our french community (I broke my drill the other day and he gave me his old one), but having a street light by our house will make little difference to the route as its long and straight.
I just wanted to know if there was something I could point out to him to argue my case, while not coming across as someone bucking the system. its unfortunate that a farmer no one likes who used to use our land before we bought the house and land all around it and now he cannot is making little waves by saying there should be a street light there. Not much anyone can do as technically there should be a street light and was. he even called the prefecture out as our land with pension was within 35 meters of a stream, (its a drainage ditch) the stream is over 100 meters away. Prefecture had to come out and explain it all and actually measure the distance again.
As for curtains. … I like to look out onto the sky at night from my bed, a street light will destroy that view. Even when i go upstairs and put the outside lights on it makes the sky less visible. If i have to close the shutters that is what i will do but not putting any curtains up here
Well you are on the right path,you are friend with the Mayor it seems to me it is the farmer is looking for vengeance.i am sure if you get on the right side of the farmer also does the farmer REALLY need the Street light
well the farmer lives 6 km away from us. As we were offered a street light when we moved in and declined he has taken it upon himself to demand the commune place a street light there.
No one likes said farmer, hes tried to take peoples land in the past using the farming laws, hence why we have done a letter with the notaire refusing him any access to our lands, the same as our 2 nearest neighbours who both cannot stand him. Unfortunately as lights should be present where houses are we have very little we can do as far as anyone can tell. Yes he is right no one can see our house or driveway but nor could they see it when the farmers friend cut the old street light down. (his friend gave him full access to the land and for 15 years there has been no street light. Eryone says he is only demanding it because he found out we didn’t want it so it is purely malicious and serves him no purpose what so ever. All the neighbours are on our side and do not see why we need to have one put up. Alas all our bedrooms face towards the road bar 1 so any light will be shining in 4 rooms at night.
Rotten situatuation Harry
I have noted this phrase from a forum I will give you the link for, maybe try something similar ? Anyway nothing lost in asking…Good luck !
AFAIK the responsibility for roads and street lighting lies entirely with the commune. They have to comply with legal obligations but beyond that, obviously they try to do what’s best for their residents. So make your voice heard and there’s no reason why they would listen to the farmer rather than to you, if the decision is theirs to make. When you say “there should be a street light there”, are you saying it because it’s an order from outside, or because the commune itself once decided to put one there? That would perhaps be the first thing to find out, and your commune’s highways/planning officer should be able to tell you.
If it’s a legal obligation, of course they have to restore it. If it’s not a legal obligation, and if the commune has managed quite well without a street light for all these years, you could raise the issue of cost because if your commune is as cash strapped as many, the mayor won’t like it to be suggested that he’s spending contribuables’ money on things that aren’t necessary.
Harry… I have no idea how you will get on with this street light problem… but… I do know that there is a wide variety of fixings that can be used to ensure the light-pollution is reduced to a minumum.
Friends were horrified to find a street light (where none had been before)… placed on the pavement alongside their low wall. The light was brilliant and a complete spread. This caused a real problem for the family, when walking from the back of the garden (lower down) towards the front of the house…(slightly elevated). The street light became eye-level and made it is impossible to see the garden steps. (dangerous).
It took a few months (during which time they erected a barrier thingy inside the garden to block the glare as best they could)… and eventually the Mayor persuaded the company in charge of street lights… to change the fitment to a downward direction, with minimum spread and softer light altogether.
As an added plus… that light, and many others, are only on from dusk to midnight.
it is yes, his next plan will no doubt to get the public access path opened up again alas its not even big enough for a car, hes just annoyed over the inability to use our land or get to the fields he can still use via our land. alas he burnt that bridge when he used our land after he was told not to in writing and turned our veg garden and our green grass garden into a corn field.