PLANS for a significant rise in height for the floodlight pylons at Burnley FC’s Turf Moor stadium have been approved.

The club applied to increase the height of the floodlights from 33m to 44m because the current lighting system did not provide uniform lighting and would not comply with Premier League regulations.

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A development control committee said the problems arose because: “The low mounting height of the Bob Lord Stand resulted in a ‘hot spot’ of light along that side line, skewing the uniformity of light distribution across the pitch.”

The improvements will only be required to comply with the demands of television companies should the club reach the Premier League again and the lights are currently compliant with the Football Championship. The floodlighting system was installed at Turf Moor in 1996 with lighting achieved by using a combination of lights mounted on the roof.

The report, stated: “In the event that Burnley Football Club is promoted to the Premier League in 2016 or after, the Premier League will require that the club’s floodlights conform to the published requirements prior to the first match of their first season in the league. As part of this new upgrade, they require the floodlight towers to be increased in height by 11m from 33m to 44m in height.”

During consultations there were objections to the plans. A spokesman for Burnley Civic Trust, said: “We believe that the proposed increased height would be visually unacceptable and it would have an adverse effect on those who live around the ground.”

The planners concluded: “The floodlights will be seen in the context of the already large football ground and as such would not be considered as dominant or visually overbearing.”

The plans were approved at Burnley Borough Council’s Development Control Committee on Thursday.