Developers with their sights on the City skyline will be asked to provide details about how their proposed new builds will be lit.
City firms are also being asked to sign up to a voluntary Considerate Lighting Charter to dim down light pollution across the Square Mile.
The City of London Corporation is in the process of shaping a Lighting Supplementary Planning Document, which will outline requirements for future planning applications in the Square Mile and provide guidance on lighting existing buildings.
The City Corporation has lofty ambitions to reach net zero for the Square Mile as a whole by 2040.
City of London Corporation Planning and Transportation Committee Chairman, Shravan Joshi, said: “The City is a unique place in which 24/7 business districts and busy transport hubs rub up against historic buildings and residential neighbourhoods.
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“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.
“We would really welcome the views of people who live, work in or visit the City, which will help us to shape how we enshrine responsible lighting in planning process and to meet our ambitious climate targets.”
The document proposes allocating new developments into ‘brightness zones’, with curfew times during which all external lighting other than that required for safety or crime prevention reasons should be switched off or dimmed.
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