LIGHT POLLUTION

A Herefordshire Campaign

In January 2005 CPRE Herefordshire hosted a highly successful half day symposium on Light Pollution. An audience of County Councillors, Parish Councillors, Business representatives, Civic Trusts, Environmental campaigners and consultants and CPRE members heard presentations from CPRE National Office; the Campaign for Dark Skies, Devon County Council, Herefordshire Council and The Monmouth Astronomical Society. Participants commented that the presentations contained many new and enlighting ideas.

The symposium followed a CPRE Herefordshire-sponsored on-line survey, conducted in 2004, to gather information about light pollution in the county. The results of this survey are available in .pdf format [link].

Councillor Roger Phillips, Leader of the Herefordshire Council, receiving the results of the "Night Blight" survey from CPRE's Tom Oliver at CPRE Herefordshire’s 2004 AGM (picture on right).

CPRE Herefordshire on-line survey and symposium took place in the context of a national campaign, jointly run by the Campaign for Dark Skies and CPRE to raise awareness throughout the country about the issues surrounding Night Blight. This national campaign coincided with the publication of a new Report that used up-to-date NASA images allowing, for the first time, a comparison between light pollution in 1993 and 2000. The comparison showed a dramatic increase in night blight over a significant part of the UK.

In Herefordshire, light pollution increased by approx. 24% between 1993 and 2000. CPRE Herefordshire was surprised and concerned about this large increase, particularly as we remain one of England’s most rural counties.

• Nationally there has been a 17% increase in the land area in England experiencing severe light pollution.
• The land area in the countryside which has unimpeded views of the night sky has shrunk by 27%
• Only 11% of England remains within the least light polluted areas.

‘Light pollution of the night sky is an increasing intrusion into the countryside at night, and is an issue we want all rural local authorities to take into account in their planning and other decisions’’. Rural White Paper, 2000

ACTION NEEDED TO REDUCE LIGHT POLLUTION
There are three main sources. Public lighting e.g. street lights; industrial lighting e.g. factories; and home lighting e.g. security lights.

To make a difference it is important that we tackle all three sources of light pollution. Campaigning at a national level has resulted in:
    *Government acknowledgement of the serious nuisance light pollution can cause; and recognition of the role of planning policy in preventing light pollution in the future.
    *The Government asking local authorities to take action to address light pollution in Local Development documents
    *The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill January 2005 including light pollution as a statutory nuisance.

CPRE Herefordshire is determined that these national achievements should be taken on board in our county. Even before Government recognition of the problems, some Counties were making a start at tackling the issues. Norfolk County Council has had an Environmental Lighting Zones policy for a number of years and Devon County Council has a proactive policy on lighting.

CPRE Herefordshire has called for Herefordshire Council to take a much more active role in tackling light pollution, which it can do by careful and sensitive scrutiny of planning applications and development proposals to ensure that any external lighting schemes will not increase pollution. It could also adopt a policy on public lighting schemes which would result in low-polluting, downlights being installed wherever and whenever possible. Experience in Devon has shown that while budget restrictions may prevent the wholescale replacement of lighting schemes with new technology, there are relatively inexpensive ways of reducing the polluting effect of old lights.

We have called for Herefordshire Council to use the planning system to protect the countryside from inappropriate or intrusive lighting schemes, and also to consider the lighting implications of small scale industrial development within a rural context.

CPRE Herefordshire is asking Parish Councils to appoint a ‘Dark Skies Officer’ who can monitor light pollution locally and liaise with local businesses and individuals to encourage and promote a local policy of ‘consideration for dark skies’. Parish Councils can also encourage the County Council planners to act by making constructive comments on planning applications which may have light pollution implications.

Individuals, whether in an urban or rural environment, can also consider the impact of their lighting schemes on the quality of life for others. A profusion of security lights, and those badly sited, can distract or blind road users, light up neighbours houses and gardens and those left on constantly are contributing unnecessarily to co2 emissions.

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CPRE Herefordshire is a registered Charity: No: 213951. The Campaign to Protect Rural England exists to promote the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country.