Sparkbrook MP Roger Godsiff wants Birmingham City Council to demand retractable floodlights at new-look Edgbaston

Oct 5 2009 by Neil Elkes, Birmingham Post

Birmingham City Council should only support the expansion of Edgbaston cricket ground if retractable floodlights are installed, a city MP has claimed.

Sparkbrook’s Labour MP, Roger Godsiff, believes that five permanent floodlight towers would be a blot on the skyline. He is calling on the council, which is lending Warwickshire County Cricket Club £20 million towards the redevelopment, to demand retractable floodlights.

The club has won permission for the redevelopment, which it says will ensure that Test matches continue to be played in Birmingham. Mr Godsiff said: “Bearing in mind that the club is seeking the support of the council in its loan, I think the additional cost of £30,000-£40,000 a year in interest payments is minute in comparison with the lasting damage to the scenic appeal of the area. Permanent floodlights will totally change the skyline.”

He has written to council leader Mike Whitby urging that the authority use its leverage through the loan to have retractable lights installed.