Cheshire- Street lights will be switched off or dimmed

[laser_jock99]

Good news for Cheshire astronomers:

http://www.prestbury...d-off-or-dimmed

If you are a Cheshire resident (and agree with these proposals) please do contact the council / newspapers etc and show support.

Without positive support (as has been the case in other Counties schemes) there will be a reversal and the best chance to reduce local light pollution will be lost.

[Mondlicht13]

This is excellent news for those living in that part of the world who share our passion for this hobby of ours.

Maybe it could be the start of something big too.

Why don't we all forward this article to our respective local councils and see whether they sit up and take notice.

Why not ?

Mike

[laser_jock99]

Turning off the lights to save money is not a new idea. There are part night lighting schemes planned or already in place in many areas of the UK. Essex, Sussex, Somerset, Devon, Derbyshire, Leicesteshire, Herfordshire, Powys to name a few. The problem with part night lighting is that is requires modification to the streetlight- which of course costs money (something like £24 per light inc. fitting). So to save money the Councils have to spend money first. The cost of the upgrade is the reason why many local authories will not have done anything to existing lights. It is costing Warwickshire County Council something like £1.4 million to make the changes to 30,000 lights- money that will take several years to recoup. Other councils have opted to spend a little more money & replace street lights completely with new white LED lighting which has a lower running cost. Most new installations today will be LED lighting- I have seen some very impressive LED installations where the light spill is minimal as it's more dircectional than the old orange lamps.

A modified Warwickshire street light with the photodiode replaced.

[Hypernova]

That is great news. I have been waiting such a long time for Cheshire East council to take action and do something to reduce light pollution, even if it is just about saving money. Nothing much being turned off around here at the moment according to the link at the bottom of the page, just a few main roads having their lights dimmed, but it's a start. I have started to noticea few of the lamps on some of the trunk roads now have signs on them stating that they are not in use.