Extracts from end of day adjournment debate on Dark Skies - Dec 14
Tuesday, 15 December 2020 07:52
Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con):...Sadly, light
pollution is growing exponentially in its geographic coverage and
population reach. CPRE’s recent annual star count found that 61% of
UK citizens live in areas with severe light pollution, meaning that
they could count fewer than 10 stars in the Orion constellation.
That was a 4% increase in light pollution on the previous year. The
case for controlling light pollution is not just for the benefit of
astronomers, just as it is...Request free trial
(Arundel
and South Downs) (Con):...Sadly, light pollution is growing
exponentially in its geographic coverage and population reach.
CPRE’s recent annual star count found that 61% of
UK citizens live in areas with severe light pollution, meaning that
they could count fewer than 10 stars in the Orion constellation.
That was a 4% increase in light pollution on the previous year. The
case for controlling light pollution is not just for the benefit of
astronomers, just as it is not only ornithologists who would miss
songbirds if they disappeared from our gardens. It also has health,
educational, environmental and economic benefits...
...Although a number of local authorities have adopted
policies that seek to do that, in practice most development
proposals are simply not assessed against such policies.
CPRE’s “Shedding Light” survey found that almost
two-thirds of local authorities do not have a lighting policy in
their local plan and only a third had proactively adopted one to
comply with the NPPF...
The Minister for Housing ():...I should briefly describe some of the other
approaches being taken to tackle light pollution, given its
potential significant effect not just on rural areas but on our
towns and cities too. Street lighting is an important issue and it
needs to be considered carefully when balancing the competing
priorities of maintaining road safety and avoiding light pollution.
The Department for Transport is therefore encouraging all local
authorities to replace their street lighting, wherever feasible,
with more modern technology such as LED lighting units, as such
alternatives can greatly reduce the amount of glare emitted. I am
aware that action is being taken by Highways England on replacing
poorly performing lighting—I have seen quite a lot of that as I
drive up and down the M40—and that these initiatives are supported
by those with interest in preserving our dark skies, such as
the CPRE and the British Astronomical
Society...
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