§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on skyglow; and what assessment he has made of the matter.
§ Mr. AtkinsRepresentations have been made by the British Astronomical Association through its campaign for dark skies about skyglow, which is caused when artificial light is scattered by dust particles and water droplets in the atmosphere.
Light can be reflected upwards from a variety of sources. Given the legitimate desire for roads and public areas to be well lit for security and amenity reasons, there is a limit to how much of this reflected light can be eliminated. However, significant improvements can be achieved by lowering the intensity of and redesigning some existing lighting schemes and encouraging the sensitive design of new ones.
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§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to deal with skyglow.
§ Mr. AtkinsUseful guidance on improvements in the design and sensitive use of lighting schemes has been issued by Government Departments and a number of professional organisations.
We are keeping under review whether other measures might usefully be taken to minimise excessive lighting, taking account of the recent findings of an informal survey of local authorities' handling of complaints about light pollution. At present it seems that many of these problems are most appropriately tackled through education and guidance, rather than regulation.