Thank you for contacting me about light pollution.
The Government recognises the impact light pollution may have on people’s health and wellbeing, as well as the environment. Ministers have put measures in place to ensure that light pollution is managed effectively. These include controls in the planning system, the statutory nuisance regime, and improvements in street lighting.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation. The statutory nuisance regime requires that local authorities take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of artificial light emitted from premises that could be damaging to human health or a nuisance.
Further, the management of street lighting in England is the responsibility of local highway authorities, which have a duty under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Central Government has no powers to override local decisions in these matters or intervene in these types of local issues.
The Department for Transport recognises that light pollution (and excessive use of lighting) can pose some social, economic and environmental problems. Local authorities are encouraged to consider best practice when making decisions about lighting on their networks.
Our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have some of the best dark skies and attained some of the earliest official Dark Skies designations in Europe. Seven of our parks have secured protected dark sky status, and the Government is committed to conserving and celebrating this wonderful experience for all.
I continue to campaign for better protections for the Island’s undeveloped and designated landscapes. I have submitted a number of representations to ministers in this regard and continue to call for an expansion of the Island’s AONB boundaries. This will ensure that protections cover many more of the corridors between the Island’s current protected landscapes. It will further provide a more holistic and forward-looking approach to protecting the Island as a whole.
I recently attended the Isle of Wight Dark Skies event, organised by the New Carnival Company. The aim of the festival was to celebrate and raise awareness of the dark skies of the Island. A number of organisations were involved with the event and it was good to see a high level of support for this.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.