at last a reply from my council on street lights

[Daniel-K]

about 3 months ago i sent a nice email to the council saying what a good job the lights are doing for the nights sky in halewood village ETC ETC i then asked them about the lights they haven't done yet that sit in front of the primary school which i live at the back of. the lights in question are about 150-200 mtrs away but the lights still cause a glow on the back of the house which shines directly into my daughters room (good excuse i know ) so i asked them for a shield or if they would replace them with the new lights. so yesterday i got an email as follows

Dear Mr Kenealy

Thank you for contacting the 'Lights on in Knowsley' website regarding the street lights on Church Road in Halewood. We are currently working in partnership with Knowsley Council on a major 25 year street lighting project and will be replacing/maintaining approximately 18,700 lighting columns, 47 high masts and 5,400 signs/bollards/beacons within Knowsley. Your email has therefore been forwarded to me. May I firstly apologise for the delay in replying to you.

The lighting on Church Road will be replaced in April next year, using the same flat glass equipment as elsewhere in Knowsley. Hopefully this will resolve the issue of light spillage into your garden. However, if there is still a problem when the new lights are installed we may be able to fit a shield to the lantern, providing this does not affect the level of light on the Highway.

With regard to the lighting on Foxes Brook Estate, as this is a new development we will only replace the lanterns. At present Knowsley Council have no plans to turn lighting off and therefore all streets/estates will be lit from dusk to dawn.

I hope this information is of some assistance to you.

Many thanks

it looks like here willing to fit a shade if the new lights still shine in the garden but i dont think they will as they are directed downwards and give off no stray light. since they have changed the lights in the village the sky here has gone a whole magnitude darker wit m31 being naked eye and the mily way in the summer is lovely now. would have been better if they would have done it this year though but gives me something to look forward too i suppose

[foundaplanet]

Nice result.

[sologuitarist61]

Sounds good - well done

[Astro Imp]

That's something to look forward to, good result.

[The Sailor]

Ah great, I was beginning to have withdrawal symptons not seeing an LP thread for over week

Jim

[laser_jock99]

Ah great, I was beginning to have withdrawal symptons not seeing an LP thread for over week

Jim

LOL- You can't be reading the forum properly I've started two LP threads in the last four days!

http://stargazerslou...helps-wildlife/

http://stargazerslou...-off-or-dimmed/

EDIT- Daniel good news from the Council BTW, proof if any were needed that contacticng the council get things done, not inactivty.

[MJP]

Well done. My Council claimed that turning off lights would breach human rights legislation!

Mike

[The Sailor]

Well done Daniel, getting a reply from the council is a start.

Mike, you should keep hammering at them, I did and all I wanted was a lamp shaded and after a phone call I put my case and all went well.

Regarding my stance on the light pollution issue, I do understand the problems astronomers have but we are a very small minority and for each one of us there are a thousand people or more who want the lights and they have their rights as well. My problem with all this is when people start attaching it to global warning, the enviornment an suchlike it is then I just close my eyes to it as again a minority of people wish to ride roughshod over the will of the majority of the people who have no interest in it at all. As I see it there are millions of people all over the world who have to pollute to survive and for people who live in nice houses to start telling these people how to live so they can live in their nice houses really gets to me. Try and get your local lights fixed by all means but don't start being a pressure group as people will just dig in to stop a minority getting their way over the majority. I hope I have not gone too far with this, just my opinion.

Jim

[laser_jock99]

Well done. My Council claimed that turning off lights would breach human rights legislation!

Mike

According to the Warks County Council Senior Street Lighting Officer "streetlighting is a privilage and not a right". Not sure how true this statement really is but coming from a lighting professional I'm sure he knows the law better than most. In esscence there is no requirement in law for the council to provide the amount of street lighting they actualy do, it's just something we got used to over the years and now just expect to be there in a modern country. Similarly we have no 'rights' to a dark sky- it's just a nicety. However with better lighting fixtures, more controlled use of artificial lighting, carefull thought & planning- we might get there......