Light Pollution (Hansard, 19 June 2003)

§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their policy on light pollution caused by sky glow obscuring the night sky and wasting energy.

§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)
My Lords, the Government's policy on light pollution is that such issues are most appropriately dealt with by raising awareness of the consequences of badly installed lighting; by providing guidance on how those problems might be mitigated; and by encouraging more effective use of existing planning powers. We are doing all those things. Since 2002–03, local authorities have been required to benchmark their energy use in street lighting. Local improvement targets will be set from 2003–04.

§ Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Has he seen the striking satellite photographs in the recent CPRE report on "Night Blight", showing how light pollution has grown dramatically over the past seven years, particularly in the South East? Much of south-east England is a nasty orange glow, with just a patch of dark sky over the Isle of Wight. I press the Minister particularly on the need for new powers for local authorities to control nuisance lighting and deal with what the Government's consultation paper last year called the detrimental effects of light pollution.

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, the answer to the noble Lord's question is "Yes". The photographs are striking. There has been an increase in light pollution: there is no question about that. The issue is what we do about it.
956 The Select Committee in another place is carrying out a study at the moment. We wholly support it and look forward to the recommendations. In 1997, as I said, we issued a good practice guide for lighting in the countryside. In 1998, in the transport White Paper, it was made clear that, if lighting is essential, it should be done in a way that minimises nuisance.
Needless to say, accidents are reduced by a third because of good street lighting, but we must be intelligent about how we organise lighting. Some £300 million of private finance credits have been made available this financial year for improved street lighting. Last October, Living Places—Power, Rights and Responsibilities dealt with nuisance lighting and requested views on updating the country code. Given the normal lethargy of governments, we have moved with the speed of light on the issue. Before anybody asks a supplementary, I can tell the House that that is, as I recall from my rote days at school, 186,000 miles a second.

§ Lord Tanlaw
My Lords, I declare an interest as chairman of the All-Party Astronomy and Space Environment Group. Will we be allowed to discuss the Government's report on dark skies, which will, I believe, come out in the autumn? Will the Minister say—he did not say it in his reply—that there will be what I call "no-glow" areas on the outskirts of towns for amateur astronomers?
Any amateur astronomer who has seen, as I have, the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn or the nearest nebula of Andromeda has a sense of wonder. That is being denied to young children and all amateur astronomers throughout the country. Towns such as Swindon have an undeflected incandescent glow of sodium that can be seen far out in outer space, outer space that people cannot see from ground level as a result.

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, I suspect that the only reason why Swindon has that glow is that all those traffic islands have to be lit.
The noble Lord is right. I am not in a position to promise debates, but there is a lot going on. The Government are consulting on some of the issues that I mentioned. We will announce the results of the consultation. Nevertheless, as I said, the Select Committee in another place is carrying out an inquiry to which my department and others will give evidence. I have no doubt that it will be debated.
We need positive solutions to the issue. As far as I am aware, only one country has legislation on light pollution—the Czech Republic. There is a lot to do, as the recent satellite photographs show. There is no question about that.

§ Lord Marlesford
My Lords, I declare an interest as a vice-president and former chairman of the CPRE. I strongly support the two noble Lords who have spoken so far.
Does the Minister agree that, in order to light the ground, one need not light the sky, in general? Will the noble Lord ensure that, if representations are made 957 about undue sky lighting in areas for which the Government have direct responsibility, such as motorways and trunk roads, he takes up any complaint and deals with it speedily?

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, the answer is "Yes". I agree with the noble Lord. Although the light itself is not a planning issue, the siting of the installations sometimes is. We covered the issue in PPG 12, 23 and 17, planning policy guidance that local authorities are, by and large, required to follow on development plans, on planning and pollution control and on planning for open space sport and recreation.
The noble Lord is right: in order to light the ground, we do not have to light the sky. That applies to sports facilities, town centres or other spaces. At the same time, people want roads that are lit well enough to cut down accidents and places lit well enough to deter crime. We do not have to light the sky in order to do that.

§ Lord Dixon-Smith
My Lords, is the Minister aware that there was a time when the price of the electricity for lighting streets at night fell virtually to zero? There was a need to do something with the electricity generated at night, because the generating capacity was not sufficiently flexible and could not be shut down. Can the Minister assure the House that the Government are taking that issue into account in their consideration of the lighting problem? If electricity is generated, it must go somewhere, and it would be better if it went into something more useful than lighting the night sky.

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, the issue that the noble Lord raises is not a problem today. As I said, the Government have made available £300 million in PFI credits to local authorities for this financial year to deal with street lighting, so that they can use more modern street lighting. That is over and above their revenue support money. There is a further £85 million for London street lighting.
When I was first elected to another place, a long time ago, the street lights and the television went off at ten o'clock at night. However, that was the result of a contentious industrial dispute, rather than an attempt to save energy.