Lord's granted floodlight permission
The MCC has been granted five-year planning permission to install floodlights at Lord's
Cricinfo staff
23-Jan-2009
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This means the lights will be in place in time for the opening ceremony of the World Twenty20 on June 5, although an exact time frame for installation still needs to be confirmed once all the fine print on the contracts has been finalised.
There had been concerns from local residents about the impact of floodlights and how frequently they will be used, but Keith Bradshaw, the MCC chief executive, said they had worked closely with everyone involved to come up with the solution.
"We have worked constructively with both the council and local residents over the past few months to ensure that we have a floodlighting solution that has as minimal an impact as possible on all those who live near Lord's whilst delivering a scheme of the highest quality for cricket," he said.
"This decision will enable MCC to host up to 12 match days a season, such as major one-day and Twenty20 day/night games, including the World Twenty20 Tournament in June this year.
"This is an integral part of our overall vision of improving Lord's for future generations of cricketers, members and cricket fans and safeguarding its position as 'The Home of Cricket'.
"We will continue our detailed dialogue with Westminster, local councillors and local residents to ensure that the timetable for the construction and introduction of the floodlighting system at Lord's will be as smooth and seamless as possible."
The five-year length of the agreement fits in with the development masterplan of Lord's which, if it goes ahead, would include building floodlights into the design. However, the MCC were keen to have more than the previous temporary solution of bringing in lights as and when they were needed, which didn't prove cost-effective, and the new lights will also meet ICC criteria for brightness.