TIME restrictions should be agreed with nearby residents before floodlighting is allowed at tennis courts on Kempsey's Plovers Rise playing fields, say parish councillors.

Kempsey Lawn Tennis Club wants to install floodlights on two of the three courts and has submitted amended plans, reducing the height of the lighting poles from 10m to 8m.

The proposed lighting would be slightly upgraded to compensate for the reduction in height, Kempsey Parish Council heard.

Residents had objected strongly to the original plan because they were worried about the visual impact of the 10m high poles used for the lighting and the possibility of light pollution affecting their homes.

There is a 10pm curfew on the use of the sports pavilion and youth centre and members suggested that a similar curfew should be placed on the use of the lighting.