Two large Dutch rose growers are complying with the bespoke regulations for shielding assimilation lighting. Because of the special cultivation, special arrangements were made with the municipality. Local residents repeatedly appealed against this. Despite a whole series of raised objections, the judge did not vindicate them, not on a single point. This is evident from a ruling by the District Court of The Hague.
On February 21, the court declared all objections by local residents, who complained about the light nuisance from the greenhouses they live about 1.4 to 2.5 kilometers from, unfounded. A hearing was held in spring 2024 in the case, which revolves around bespoke regulations for two rose growers in the municipality of Waddinxveen. Local residents objected to the regulations for the period 2019-2025. After the hearing, the judge ordered the Stichting Advisering Bestuursrechtspraak voor Milieu en Ruimtelijke Ordening (Stab) to conduct research.
Growing roses not profitable without customisation
According to local residents, bespoke regulations are meant for special and incidental cases. They argue that this is not the case here, as the municipality has been imposing bespoke regulations for the rose growers concerned since 2014, with the bespoke regulations also applying to newly built greenhouses. As a result, the growers do not have to shield the assimilation lighting as much, under certain circumstances, as prescribed in generally applicable rules. For each combination of outdoor temperature and wind speed, the tailor-made regulation explains for how many hours per year the regulation applies, and what percentage of screening then applies for the period from sunset to sunrise and for the nano-night.
The Stab, which carried out research, points out that in certain weather conditions in rose cultivation, climate control problems can arise to such an extent that profitable cultivation of the crop in question is not possible without adapted rules for light screening. Stab adds that given the specific lighting requirements of roses, a large-scale switch to 100% LED lighting is not yet possible.
Own limit on light pollution
Following complaints from local residents, the municipality acknowledges that there are no established limits on the acceptability of nuisance due to sky brightness. Therefore, in order to assess the acceptability of the customization requested for the rose growers, the municipality has developed its own limit on sky brightness nuisance. This was based on an ODMH light nuisance study. Stab agrees with this assessment framework chosen by the municipality. The luminance contrast factor of 11, generally recognized as a nuisance, is not exceeded at any of the measurement points used around the greenhouses, research showed.
Other points raised by local residents, such as impacts on flora and fauna due to additional light emission from the rose greenhouses, were also declared unfounded by the court. The judge noted that the light emission has been present in the area for a long time and is therefore an existing factor for the flora and fauna present.