HC Deb 10 May 1994 vol 243 cc116-7W
Mr. David Porter

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he now has to combat pollution of the night sky by ground light; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Atkins

I am aware of the concerns, particularly of astronomers, about the adverse effects of "skyglow", which is caused when artificial light from the ground is scattered by dust particles and water droplets in the atmosphere.

Light can be reflected upwards from a variety of sources, including street lighting and flood and security lighting of industrial, commercial and domestic premises.

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. Useful guidance on this subject 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, but it seems that many of those problems are most appropriately tackled through education and guidance, rather than regulation.