Tag: CPRE

LIGHT POLLUTION: vast majority can’t see dark sky, finds CPRE Star Count

  • 75% of people are in areas with the worst three categories of light pollution 
  • Campaigners, including Chris Packham, call for action to ‘rewild the night sky’ to improve the health of people and wildlife 
  • Giving evidence to the House of Lords, CPRE identified key changes to national and local planning policy that, if implemented, could save councils hundreds of thousands of pounds in energy bills while improving the worst light polluted skies 

Light pollution affects the vast majority of the population, with three-quarters of people in the UK finding their view of the night sky obscured, new data has shown. The results of Star Count 2023, released today by CPRE, the countryside charity, find only five percent of people can enjoy the wonder of a truly dark starry sky. 

Almost 4,000 people took part in this year’s Star Count, the country’s biggest annual citizen science project of its kind, from 17-24 February. Participants were asked to report the number of stars they could see with the naked eye in the Orion constellation. The results show that, for just over half the population, their view of the night sky remains obscured by severe light pollution. The proportion experiencing ‘truly dark skies’ and ‘very severe light pollution’ – the best and worst categories – both increased by two percent. 

In evidence presented this month to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, CPRE recommended that local authorities should have legal powers to control light pollution through planning regulations. Outdoor advertisements are already managed in a similar way. Further to that, key changes to national and local planning policy were identified that, if implemented, should lead to a step-change in reducing light pollution, including policies to protect dark skies and intrinsically dark landscapes. 

Tom Fyans, interim CEO of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: ‘The night sky is becoming increasingly obscured by artificial light. Sadly, this means most people in the UK can’t see many stars at all, especially if they live near a big town or city. Yet, it’s a form of pollution that has been allowed to grow for years without any significant effort being made to control the damage it’s causing to people, nature and the environment.  

‘Local authorities could potentially save hundreds of thousands of pounds each year by not wasting energy on unnecessary lighting. It’s an opportunity begging to be taken. All councils are looking for ways to save money and reduce carbon emissions – by cutting light pollution they’d improve people’s sleep and mood at the same time. 

‘As anyone who has landed at an airport at night can attest, housing and roads cause the most light pollution. Local authorities and highways authorities are therefore responsible. They can take action by investing in well-designed lighting, that shines where and when needed. Dimming technology; switching off street lights, if and when they’re unnecessary, in the dead of night; or better designed directional lighting would make a massive difference.’ 

There is increasing awareness of the effect that light pollution has on people’s health and wellbeing. In a previous survey, CPRE found half of respondents said their sleep had been disrupted by light shining in through their bedroom window. More than one in ten people (14%) have slept in a different room to avoid light pollution and 3% have moved house to get away from light pollution. 

Artificial light is known to cause confusion to migrating birds, often with fatal outcomes. It interrupts natural rhythms, including the reproduction, feeding and sleeping patterns of pollinating insects, bats and nocturnal animals. In humans, studies show that exposure to light at night interrupts sleep and can disrupt the body’s production of melatonin, a brain hormone best known for its daily role in resetting the body’s biological clock. 

Star-Count-2023-results-mapDownload

Emma Marrington, landscape enhancement lead at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “It’s great that so many people took part in Star Count this year. What is clear is that light pollution continues to affect people’s experience of the night sky. Action is needed now! 

‘A strong approach is needed by local councils to manage light pollution, by ensuring local planning and street lighting policies protect dark skies and intrinsically dark landscapes in their areas. We’re also calling for minimum standards to be introduced nationally for the management of external lighting to cut light pollution. 

‘This would be a hugely important step towards strengthened planning to ensure we get well-designed lighting that is only used when and where it is needed, protecting our existing dark skies for the benefit of current and future generations.’ 

CPRE is calling for stronger local and national planning policy to combat light pollution. The National Planning Policy Framework, where these policies are decided, is currently under review. Now is the time for the government to act.

Chancellor to announce Growth Plan for ‘a new era for Britain’

  • Chancellor set to outline his vision for “a new era for Britain” focused on economic growth.
  • 38 local and combined authorities in England in the running to establish new Investment Zones to get their local economies growing.
  • Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to announce new legislation to speed up the delivery of around 100 major infrastructure projects across the UK.

THE CHANCELLOR will today promise “a new era for Britain” focused on driving economic growth.

Kwasi Kwarteng will announce The Growth Plan – a major package of over 30 measures to tackle high energy bills, drive down inflation and cut taxes to drive growth, while maintaining responsible public finances.

Igniting growth by lowering taxes and cutting regulation is this government’s central mission – it will encourage business investment, drive growth, create jobs, improve living standards for everyone and promote confidence in the UK economy.

Speaking about his priorities in his speech to the House of Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, is expected to say: “Growth is not as high as it needs to be, which has made it harder to pay for public services, requiring taxes to rise.

“This cycle of stagnation has led to the tax burden being forecast to reach the highest levels since the late 1940s.

“We are determined to break that cycle. We need a new approach for a new era focused on growth.

“That is how we will deliver higher wages, greater opportunities and sufficient revenue to fund our public services, now and into the future.

“That is how we will compete successfully with dynamic economies around the world.

“That is how we will turn the vicious cycle of stagnation into a virtuous cycle of growth.

“We will be bold and unashamed in pursuing growth – even where that means taking difficult decisions.

“The work of delivery begins today”.

The Chancellor will announce that the government is in discussion with 38 local and mayoral combined authority areas in England including West Midlands, Tees Valley, Somerset and Hull to set up new Investment Zones in specific sites within their area. These will be hubs for growth and are emblematic of the modern Britain that this government want to create.

Under a brand-new initiative, each Investment Zone will offer generous, targeted and time-limited tax cuts for businesses, backing them to increase productivity and create new jobs. This could encourage investment in new shopping centres, restaurants, apartments and offices – creating thriving new communities.

These areas will also benefit from further liberalised planning rules to release more land for housing and commercial development, and reforms to increase the speed of delivering development.

It will include reforms to environmental regulation and streamlined local and national planning policies, for example removing height restrictions on development, so that Investment Zones can bring forward more development – including housing and commercial sites – at the pace needed to boost growth.

Time-consuming negotiations between councils and developers for each project over affordable housing contributions will be scrapped. This will be replaced with a set percentage of affordable homes, whilst ensuring communities get the infrastructure they want and need.

Investment Zones will only be established with support from local leaders. The government will work closely with areas to develop tailored proposals that support their ambitions and deliver benefits for local residents.

The Government will work in partnership with Devolved Administrations and local partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to deliver Investment Zones.

The Chancellor is expected to say: “The time it takes to get consent for nationally significant projects is getting slower, not quicker, while our international competitors forge ahead. We have to end this.

“To support growth right across the country, we need to go further, with targeted action in local areas.

“We will liberalise planning rules in specified agreed sites, releasing land and accelerating development.

“And we will cut taxes, with businesses in designated sites enjoying the benefit of generous tax reliefs”.

The Chancellor will also set out an ambitious package of measures, including new legislation, to accelerate the delivery of around 100 major infrastructure projects across the country. The Growth Plan also sets out the infrastructure projects that the government will prioritise for acceleration, across transport, energy, and digital infrastructure.

In 2021 it took 65 per cent longer to get consent for major infrastructure projects than in 2012, with not a single new nuclear-power station finished since 1995.

The development, consultation and consent for a large road scheme takes an average of 5 to 7 seven years, while some offshore wind farms can take up to 13 years from development to deployment and other projects require 34,000 pages of documentation.

The Norfolk Vanguard wind farm, a 1.8GW-wind farm project located in the off the coast of Norfolk that will power almost 2 million homes, took almost 4 years to go through just the planning stages and faced a legal challenge over the visual impact of the scheme delaying the development consent by a further year.

The Junction 10A of the M20, an international route which is used by large volumes of heavy goods and holiday traffic, took seven and a half years from the review of the preferred scheme to be granted planning permission due to delays in the planning system.

The Chancellor will set out plans to reverse this trend speeding up projects including new roads and railways, by reducing the burden of environmental assessments in the consultation process and reforming habitats and species regulations, driving the UK’s economic growth.

Legislation will be brought forward in the coming months to address barriers to delivery by reducing unnecessary burdens to speed up the delivery of vital infrastructure.

These reforms are part of the government’s effort to accelerate projects vital to securing our energy security, such as 6GW capacity of offshore wind power and support other nationally significant infrastructure such as Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, A417 Air Balloon and Project Gigabit.

Drop false choice between the environment and the economy, urges CPRE

Commenting on the Chancellor’s mini-Budget, Sarah McMonagle, Acting Director of Campaigns and Policy at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: ‘This government needs to drop the false choice between the environment and the economy and get on with delivering the basic building blocks for thriving rural communities that have been neglected for too long.

“But sadly, the government seems hell bent on repeating the mistakes of the past rather than pursuing the policies rural communities really need in order to thrive.

‘If ministers want to see booming high streets in our market towns then they should be investing in a reliable and comprehensive bus network, not fast tracking road building schemes that have long since been proven not to deliver meaningful economic gains.

‘If ministers want to see more money in people’s pockets they should be delivering a massive programme of genuinely affordable homes not trying to bypass the democratic planning system.

‘If ministers want to keep business costs down, they should be making use of the 250,000 hectares of south facing commercial roofspace across the country to achieve a revolution in cheap domestically generated solar energy, not breaking manifesto commitments by trying to resurrect a fracking industry that will have no meaningful impact on wholesale gas prices.

‘The government’s plan to achieve growth by allowing businesses to trash the environment is a recipe for disaster that will ultimately leave rural communities poorer.’

‘Turning benefits into bricks’: Boris Johnson to extend Right to Buy

The Prime Minister has announced 2.5 million tenants renting their homes from housing associations in England will be given the right to buy them outright.

  • Right to Buy scheme extended to housing association tenants, with government pledging to build a new social home for every one sold
  • Universal Credit reform will incentivise more hard-working people to save for a house deposit
  • Review of mortgage lending market will aim to turn more of ‘Generation Rent’ into ‘Generation Buy’

Two and a half million tenants renting their homes from housing associations will be given the right to buy them outright, the Prime Minister has announced.

In a speech today, he has confirmed an extension of the popular Right to Buy scheme, which has made home ownership a reality for two million households since the 1980s.

Currently, tenants in council homes are eligible to buy their homes at a discounted price, up to 70% off the market value dependent on how long they have lived there. However, the scheme is less generous for those in homes owned by housing associations.

Extending the scheme could benefit up to 2.5 million tenants who would gain the right to buy, freeing them up to become homeowners, and add value and make improvements to their home as they wish. The Government will work closely with the housing association sector on the design of the scheme.

Social housing will always play an important role in our society, so the Prime Minister will also commit to the building of replacement social homes for each one sold.

The Prime Minister said: “Just as no generation should be locked out of home ownership because of when they were born, so nobody should be barred from that same dream simply because of where they live now.

“For four decades it has been possible for council home tenants to use a discount to buy the property they live in. Over that time almost two million people have been helped into home ownership.

“They have switched identities and psychology, from being dependent on the state for every repair – from damp-proofing to a new front door – to being in charge of their own family home, able to make improvements and add value as they please.”

In order to turn more members of ‘Generation Rent’ into ‘Generation Buy’ the government will also launch an independent review of access to mortgage finance for first-time buyers, with the aim of making it easier for this group by widening access to low-cost, low-deposit finance such as 95% mortgages.

Currently, soaring house prices, stringent mortgage lending restrictions and high deposit requirements are hampering the ambition of many young people who want to own their own home. Over 50% of today’s renters could afford the monthly cost of a mortgage but various constraints mean only 6% could immediately access a typical first-time buyer mortgage.

This will be the first comprehensive review of the mortgage market for a decade, seeking bold and innovative steps that Government and industry can take to support more first-time buyers into home ownership.

As the Prime Minister set out: “We have a ludicrous situation whereby plenty of younger people could afford to make monthly mortgage payments – they’re earning enough to cover astronomical rent bills – but the ever-spiralling price of a house or flat has so inflated deposit requirements that saving even just 10 per cent is a wholly unrealistic proposition for them.

“First-time buyers are trying to hit a continually moving target.

“And of course the global rise in the cost of living is only making life harder for savers. So we want it to be easier to get a mortgage.

“Reporting back this Autumn [the review] will look at how we can give our nation of aspiring homeowners better access to low-deposit mortgages.”

The Prime Minister has also pledged to turn ‘benefits to bricks’ – changing welfare rules so that the 1.5 million people who are in work but also on housing benefit will be given the choice to use their benefit towards a mortgage, rather than automatically going directly to private landlords and housing associations.

The welfare system exists as a safety net to help the poorest people, but the government also wants to incentivise people to find work and take steps to better their lives.

So if a hard-working family saves a deposit to buy a home, the government will back them with the same housing support that they would have used on their rent, to pay towards their mortgage instead.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove MP said: Today we are extending the opportunity of homeownership to millions more hardworking people across the country.

“By extending Right to Buy and bringing forward the most comprehensive review of the mortgage market in decades, we are backing first-time buyers, breaking down barriers to homeownership and delivering on the people’s priorities.

“At the same time, we will continue to deliver much-needed new, good quality social homes by replacing each and every property sold.”

The government will also change the rules to incentivise those who are claiming Universal Credit to save for a deposit. Currently, welfare rules taper the amount of Universal Credit received when the claimant’s savings exceed £6,000, and it stops entirely when savings exceed £16,000.

We will commit to exempting Lifetime ISA savings from these rules – meaning hard-working people can save a little each month specifically for a deposit without impacting their Universal Credit payments, until they have enough for a deposit for a first home.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Thérèse Coffey said: “For too many people the aspiration to own their home has been taken away. By turning benefits to bricks, we are opening the door to home ownership for those on the lowest incomes.

“By removing barriers and allowing people on benefits to save into a Lifetime ISA, they will be incentivised to put aside a deposit to buy their home.

“And we are also giving people the choice to use their benefit towards their mortgage rather than on rent that pays a buy-to-let landlord.”

To support existing homeowners, the government will also improve support for mortgage interest (SMI) – a loan which helps claimants pay interest on their mortgages and stay in their homes if they lose their jobs.

Currently, this only kicks in after nine months of unemployment so the government will bring this forward to three months, to incentivise people to find work again and bring government into line with what lenders offer in these circumstances.

The Levelling Up Secretary will push forward our commitment to deliver 1 million new homes by the end of this parliament. Working with local communities to build the right homes in the right places, more publicly owned brownfield land will be used and small sites unlocked, with priority given to key workers and first time buyers.

The Prime Minister has today also reaffirmed his commitment to end the scourge of unfair leasehold terms to give leaseholders better control over their homes and lives. The government will drive forward leasehold reform, including the ability for a leaseholder to buy their freehold – helping 4.6 million households genuinely own their own home. This will include discounts of up to 90% for those trapped with egregious, escalating ground rents.

Extending right to buy will worsen rural affordable homes crisis, says CPRE

Commenting on plans to extend the right to buy scheme announced by the government, Tom Fyans, director of campaigns and policy at CPRE, the countryside charity, said:  ‘Unfortunately, this is another example of a government rapidly losing touch with the realities of rural life.

“Extending right to buy will do nothing to address the rural affordable homes crisis because the problem is a lack of homes in the first place. There are 176,000 families in rural areas on social housing waiting lists. These are families that could be even further disadvantaged by housing associations being forced to sell their limited homes on the cheap. 

‘The number one lesson of right to buy in a rural context is that it decimated rural social housing stocks. What low-income families need is hundreds of thousands more truly affordable homes to live in. Those living in the countryside are hampered by low wages and high house prices. That’s why the government needs to commit to building 145,000 social homes a year to fill the gap between supply and demand. 

‘The demand for social housing is growing nearly six times faster than the rate of supply in rural areas. At current rates, the backlog of low-income families needing accommodation would take 121 years to clear. This is an utterly unsustainable situation and potentially selling off the few remaining housing association properties we do have will make a bad situation immeasurably worse.’ 

Public asked to become citizen scientists in annual Star Count to map light pollution in our skies 

  • CPRE, the countryside charity, is calling on people to take part in Star Count, the country’s biggest annual citizen science project of its kind, which takes place from 26 February to 6 March 
  • A clear view of the night sky helps balance our mental health and boost emotional wellbeing – but light pollution is blotting out the stars and obstructing our ability to connect with nature 
  • Lockdown produced clearer, darker skies but experts fear it was a temporary reprieve 

People are being asked to take part in an annual Star Count to record how clear our view is of the night sky. CPRE, the countryside charity, is working with the British Astronomical Association’s Commission for Dark Skies to map light pollution levels across the country. 

In the biggest citizen science project of its kind, people are being asked to count the number of stars they see in the Orion constellation to help map the best and worst places in the UK to enjoy a star-filled night sky.

The results will be compared with 2021’s findings, gathered during lockdown, which revealed a notable drop in the number of people experiencing severe light pollution given urban areas were much quieter and fewer large buildings were in use. 

A clear view of a star-filled night sky has a hugely beneficial effect on our mental health and, like access to other forms of nature, helps reduce stress and increase a sense of peace and wellbeing. Research has even shown that regularly spending time looking at the stars can lower blood pressure and reduce depression. Yet, the night sky, which is a hugely significant part of our natural environment, has no legal protection.  

Tom Fyans, deputy chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: ‘The night sky is one half of our experience of nature; but we don’t often think of it like that. In and of itself, it helps balance our mental health and boost our emotional wellbeing. Recollect that experience of a starry sky and you instinctively know it soothed you. 

‘But our view of the night sky – and all the benefits it undoubtedly brings – is being blotted out by light pollution. Like all forms of pollution, it is damaging our mental and physical health, and also having a severe impact on wildlife. Yet, it is a form of pollution that is allowed to increase year on year without any effort being made to control the damage it is causing.’ 

In 2021, over 7,000 people took part in CPRE’s Star Count. The proportion of people reporting ‘severe light pollution’, defined as ten stars or fewer being visible to the naked eye in the Orion constellation, had declined from 61% to 51%.

The proportion of ‘truly dark skies’, defined as over 30 stars being visible within the Orion constellation, had increased from 3% to 5%. This was likely due to the count taking place during lockdown, with reduced levels of artificial light leading to a clearer view of the night sky. 

Now people are being urged to once again come together for one of the nation’s biggest citizen science projects to help discover if light pollution has increased since the end of lockdown – and where the best views of the stars can be found.  

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Emma Marrington, CPRE dark skies campaigner, said: ‘We need your help to find out if light pollution has increased over the past year and if more people are experiencing darker night skies.

“The results from Star Count will help us create a map of where star-spotters are enjoying deep, dark star-filled skies. By showing on a map where light pollution is most serious, we can work with local councils and others to decide what to do about it. 

‘Star Count is a great way to switch off from the distractions of daily life and reconnect with nature – and by taking part as a citizen scientist, you can help us protect and improve everyone’s view of a clear, sparkling night sky.’ 

Light pollution means many people only experience a limited view of the night sky, and it also disrupts wildlife’s natural patterns. By showing where views are most affected by light pollution, the evidence can be used to help protect and enhance the nation’s dark skies, improving our health, wellbeing, wildlife and the environment. 

Bob Mizon, of the British Astronomical Association’s Commission for Dark Skies, said: ‘The night sky is a great antidote to the stresses of modern life; you go out, look up and suddenly everything is calm. The stars made every atom in our bodies; they are our chemical parents. They’re intimately connected to us and even in these light polluted days people have a real desire to see the stars. 

‘Just as we have an affinity with trees and the rest of nature, we have a connection to the night sky. It is literally 50 per cent of our environment – from east to west – and it is the only part of our environment that has no protection in law.

People are very rapidly coming to the conclusion that what we do to the environment has a direct impact on our wellbeing. The same as coral reefs dying off and rivers clogged with plastic bags – one more aspect of our impact on the environment is our pollution of the night sky and yet it is completely unprotected.’