New Clause 32 - Regulations to control light pollution
Planning and Compulsory Purchase (Re-committed) Bill
3:15 pm
Ms Yvette Cooper (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Pontefract and Castleford, Labour)
Much as the hon. Member for Ludlow would like to tempt me to take new powers, I shall resist. However, the new clause addresses a genuine issue: the concern that in too many places, external lighting increasingly prevents people from seeing the stars.
The adverse effect of some external lighting is well known. In the past, a lot of street lighting was provided by low-pressure sodium lighting units, which often lead to orange sky glow. Newer technologies, particularly high-pressure sodium lighting units, allow much finer control of light distribution and reduce the amount of light directed towards the sky.
The Government are sensitive to these issues. In 1997 we issued a document entitled, ''Lighting in the Countryside: Towards Good Practice'', which is available on our website. It demonstrates what can be done to lessen the adverse effects of external lighting, including street lighting and security lighting. The Department for Transport has published advice on good street lighting practice to reduce sky glow and light pollution generally, as has the Institution of Lighting Engineers. The institution has also published advice on security lighting.
The hon. Member for Ludlow specifically mentioned nuisance lighting, which I agree is at issue. Last year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issued a consultation paper entitled, ''Living Places—Powers, Rights, Responsibilities''. One issue addressed in that paper is nuisance from domestic security lights. Opinions were sought on whether the Government should extend the statutory nuisance regime to include security lighting, which we are considering.
The paper also questioned whether the guidance in the document ''Lighting in the Countryside'' should be updated. We are considering that question. On 6 October 2003, the Select Committee on Science and Technology published a report on light pollution and astronomy, which the Government are considering. We will consider whether any additional guidance on light pollution is needed, and will also consider any recommendations that emerge from the consultation exercise and from the Science and Technology
Committee's report. It is worth recognising the fact that the Committee did not recommend a planning solution.