Experts publish guide on light pollution
A guidance document developed by Dark Source Lighting Design Studio and Friends of the Lake District to provide technical lighting guidance has been published.
The technical advice note is designed to conserve and enhance the Dark Skies across Cumbria.
Loaded with striking illustrations and graphics, the publication covers good lighting principles, positive lighting outcomes delivered through getting lighting right, different forms of light pollution and their impacts, the planning and lighting design process and, crucially, what good practice looks like through visuals and examples.
The Good Lighting Technical Advice Note (TAN) for Cumbria stems from the Dark Skies Cumbria Project led by Friends of the Lake District. Produced by Dark Source, the document is backed by many local and national supporting bodies, local planning and highway authorities, and demand from architects, communities, installers wanting to do the right thing with lighting, especially given Cumbria’s highly-valued environment.
This TAN covers a whole county region, relevant to urban and rural areas, and not just a Dark Sky Reserve or community. It also implements a policy goal of a net reduction in light pollution.
Most strikingly, it contains bespoke and distinctive visual graphics for different development types to convey good lighting principles clearly to diverse audiences and provides a free CPD tool for non-expert planners to upskill their knowledge base in technical lighting when budgets are at extreme lows.
It has just been nominated for a Build Back Better Award 2023 in the lighting category.
Earlier this month a report from the House of Lords declared that light pollution contributes to a range of adverse health outcomes including heart disease and premature death.
It also states that light is poorly understood and poorly regulated and the Government’s approach is ‘confused’.
The report says that noise and light ‘sit uncomfortably’ under the aegis of pollutants regulated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The 25 Year Environment Plan briefly mentions noise and light pollution, but with no specific targets and seemingly little impetus from central government to address them.
• Don’t miss Circular Lighting Live 2023, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition taking place on Thursday 21 September 2023 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2023 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. For 2023, the organisers have moved to a bigger venue with more expansive exhibition floor and included a dedicated track for lighting designers. More info: www.circularlighting.live
