Outside lighting
The estate has very little street lighting, by design. It is part of why the place feels the way it does after dark, and it is why a single badly aimed security light travels a very long way here.
Complaints about lighting have gone up in recent years, which is really a complaint about a small number of fittings pointed slightly wrong. The Association put together some suggestions in 2018 to help people avoid causing a nuisance without meaning to.
Security lights
Set them so they are not triggered by traffic or people passing outside your property. A light that fires every time somebody walks a dog past stops being a security light and becomes a nuisance, and your neighbours stop noticing it, which rather defeats the object.
Aim them to minimise glare into neighbouring windows, and check them occasionally for faults. A sensor that has failed on is a common cause of complaint and the owner is often the last to know, because they are asleep behind the house.
Garden lights
Keep them discreet, and turn them off between midnight and 6am. Very little in a garden needs lighting at three in the morning.
Timers and sensors
Wherever you can, put outside lights on a movement (PIR) sensor or a timer rather than leaving them on. It uses less electricity, it is less intrusive, and a light that comes on is far more noticeable than one that was already on.
If you are away
Inside the house, timers that switch lights on and off give the impression somebody is home. A light left on continuously does the opposite: it advertises an empty house rather than an occupied one.
Lights on gateposts
Worth a thought about the fitting itself as well as the brightness. Gatepost lanterns are at eye level from the road and are one of the details that add up to the character of the estate, so something in keeping is better than something merely bright. The Village Design Statement is the place to look.