CPRE Shropshire
Protecting Shropshire for Sixty Years
19 April 2010: Letter to Shropshire Star
Shropshire Council’s plans to reduce the use of street lighting are welcome. While we need lighting to guide us after dark and for safety, we do not need lighting that wastes energy or that shines upwards into night skies blocking views of the planets and stars. More...
#darkskies2010: 20 March to 10 April 2010
#darkskies2010 is a worldwide celebration of starlit skies and protest against light pollution. It is an informal event hosted on the social network Twitter. The broad intention is get the Twitter world talking about how light pollution is robbing us of our cultural heritage of dark skies. Being a social networking project, the format is evolving rather than being dictated from the centre.
Further Information
- #darkskies2010 website
- 20 February. "Lights out for dark skies." CPRE's Andy Boddington interviewed about #darkskies2010 (Shropshire Star)
- 7 March. " Dark Skies campaign aims to get the stars twinkling over UK towns and cities." CPRE's Andy Boddington interviewed about #darkskies2010 (Birmingham Post)
Light Pollution
Darkness at night is one of the things that defines the countryside and makes it so different from towns and cities. But that darkness is disappearing, and with it our view of the stars and planets.
Night Blight in the West Midlands
Click for a larger image
Why light pollution matters
The wasteful, careless use of outdoor lights is blighting our night sky, stopping us from being able to see the stars. The problem isn’t created by all lighting, just those lights that waste energy by beaming some or all of their light upwards. This causes light pollution, which can be seen as an orange glow lighting up the night sky for miles outside towns and cities.
In the absence of light pollution, you can see thousands of stars on a clear, dark night and our own galaxy, the Milky Way, splashed across the heavens. But where there is light pollution, you can see only a couple of dozen of the very brightest stars. Light pollution wastes electricity and energy, and in doing so it contributes to air pollution and climate change. CPRE is particularly concerned because darkness at night and starry skies are two of the things that – up to now at least – have defined the countryside and made it so different from towns and cities. That quality needs to be maintained and restored.
November 2009. “Light in the wrong place has become one of the major unaddressed pollution problems in Britain today.” A significant report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution says that the benefits of lighting have been overstated and that light pollution could be damaging to the natural environment and should be cut (Report).
Tackling Light Nuisance
Intrusive lighting can now be dealt with under a new criminal offence; the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act classifies light pollution as a statutory offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
However, the new powers are limited. It deals with light nuisance, such as a neighbour’s security light shining into your window, but not the light pollution that brightens the skies of Shropshire and obscures the stars. Street lights are excluded from prosecution under the Act, as are goods depots, bus and rail stations and airports.
What you can do
If you wish to deal with pollution, first make an accurate record of the problem. Then try to resolve the issue amicably with your neighbour. If that fails, you can contact your local environmental health service at the District Council.
You will need to convince them that the light source is a nuisance, and that your health or the enjoyment of your property is affected. If that proves fruitless, you might try the courts, but the aim of Act is to find a way of redressing light nuisance without escalating neighbourhood disputes.
CPRE Shropshire is hoping to do more to tackle growing light pollution in the county. If you are interested in helping us, please contact our Bear Steps Office. cpre@cpreshropshire.org.uk
Further Information
- CPRE Oswestry on light pollution
- CPRE national website
- Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report: Artificial Light in the Environment
- Campaign for Dark Skies
- National Trust on Dark Skies
- Environmental Protection UK Briefing
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CPRE Shropshire, Bear Steps Office, St Alkmonds Square, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1UH.
01743 356511. cpre@cpreshropshire.org.uk
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