Griff XL (Main Roads & Architectural)
Dinky – LED street Light
Bento Area
Tekk – Functional LED Road Lighting
Bento
HML – High Mast Lighting System
Arrow Mini – LED Flood light range 15w to 120w
MFL Floodlight
Arrow Colour – RGB and RGBW Colour changing floodlight
Sphere
Chic
Trixia
Irys
Specifications
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has long fought for the protection and improvement of dark skies, and against the spread of unnecessary artificial light. Having last published a major mapping project on light pollution and dark skies in 2003 (based on data from 1993 and 2000), CPRE commissioned LUC to create new maps of Great Britain’s light pollution and dark skies. (1) Using data captured by a satellite at 1.30 am throughout September 2015, the latest technology has been used to give an accurate picture of how much light is spilling up into the night sky and show where urgent action is needed. We also sought to find where the darkest skies are so that they can be protected and improved.
Detailed interactive maps have been created for England showing districts, counties, National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and, at a wider scale, National Character Areas. Besides these, there are high-level maps available for Scotland and Wales, so that we can now present the most accurate ever picture of how much light is spilling up into Britain’s night sky.
The key findings from our analysis of the mapping are:
● Only 22% of England has pristine night skies, which we consider as completely free of light pollution. When the two darkest categories are combined, almost half of England has what most of us regard as dark skies. Yet light pollution continues to spread into the countryside from towns and cities, damaging the character of rural areas. 1 Due to improvements in the technology used and accuracy of the maps, this new data is not directly comparable with our earlier maps. This report presents the evidence from this new data and our analysis of it. It does not contain comparisons with previous data. 2 This figure is for the darkest category only, colour band 1.
● Almost half (47%) of the very darkest skies in England have no national protection.2 The other half (53%) of our darkest skies are in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, demonstrating the vital role these places play in protecting and enhancing our experience of the countryside.
● There is significant light pollution from motorways and trunk roads.
● There is substantial light pollution from some business districts such as the City of London, and facilities such as Leicester football stadium, that are not in use at 1.30 am.
● The South West (67%) and North East (65%) regions of England have the highest proportion of their area in the two darkest categories. The brightest region is London.
● Based on average light levels across the county, Herefordshire is England’s darkest county, yet Northumberland has the highest proportion of pristine dark skies at 72% to Herefordshire’s 60%. Both counties are taking steps to improve street lighting and reduce light pollution. The brightest counties based on average light levels are West and South Yorkshire, followed by Berkshire and Cheshire.
(1) Due to improvements in the technology used and accuracy of the maps, this new data is not directly comparable with our earlier maps. This report presents the evidence from this new data and our analysis of it. It does not contain comparisons with previous data.
(2) This figure is for the darkest category only, colour band 1