Woman, 70, with light sensitivity forces council to dim bright LED streetlights ... trends now
A woman with light sensitivity has won a four-year battle with her local council to have 'blinding' LED lights in her street replaced with a dimmer alternative.
Sasha Rodoy, 70, from north London, filed a complaint with Barnet Council about the bright energy efficient lights because they were keeping her awake.
She also suffers from photophobia - an extreme sensitivity to light - as a result of eye surgery several years ago.
But she says the council refused to engage with her or take seriously her claims that she found the glare from the lights 'painful' in January 2020 - prompting her to launch a legal challenge, running up £50,000 of costs in the process.
Barnet has finally agreed to replace the 4000 Kelvin bulbs in her street with 2200K bulbs, similar in hue to old-style sodium vapour lights.
However, the authority unsuccessfully sought to gag her with a a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) preventing her from discussing the case for fear of setting a 'precedent'.
Sasha Rodoy has won a four-year battle with Barnet Council to have the LED street lights in her cul-de-sac replaced with warmer, dimmer bulbs
Ms Rodoy says that she believes she has set a 'precedent' that could prompt other challenges against councils across the country
Photographs published by Essex Highways - unrelated to Ms Rodoy's case - in 2017 show the difference between old-style sodium vapour bulbs (left) and new LEDs (right)
One of the new-style LED lights installed by Barnet Council across the borough, which has around 389,000 residents
Ms Rodoy told MailOnline, however, that setting a precedent is exactly what she has done - and that she hopes her 'bittersweet victory' will inspire more legal challenges against bright LED bulbs against councils across the country.
'My main pleasure about this is that I have set a precedent,' she said.
'It's going to cost Barnet a lot of more than my legal fees would have cost them. I have opened the floodgates for everybody across the UK (to challenge their councils).
