As a keen Amateur Astronomer of some years, I have been aware of the continuing deterioration of the night sky. It is becoming more and more difficult to see some of the fainter objects without having to travel several miles to find a dark site even though I live of the edge of a metropolitan conurbation in a rural area.

  I am aware that new "A" Class road and motorway lighting must conform to less sky polluting types, where this has been applied I find driving much more comfortable on the eye without the glare from unshielded lights, but there is a need I feel to apply some similar standards to replacement and "B" Class road lighting, which outnumbers other road lighting by far.

  The proliferation of hideously bright intruder alarm lighting which lights not only the individuals property but everyone else's within 50 metres also poses another problem of light trespass which needs some control.

  Other areas are Sports arenas, car park and historic building floodlighting which are necessary items to illuminate, but why does the illumination have to spread so far out of the confines of the arena? It is important not only for Astronomy but also to keep the countryside as pristine as possible and to enable the nocturnal wildlife to be able to function as designed. Here I mention the unfortunate glow-worm whose light is to attract females for breeding purposes. The success of which is diminishing rapidly due to its faint light being made invisible by the spread of artificial uncontrolled lighting. I have not seen glow-worms in my vicinity for years where at one time they were a fairly common sight. Good quality properly directed lighting is a benefit to all not only to those of us with a close interest.

3 April 2003