Now I know why LP is so bad in my area!

[Broadymike]

2 hours ago, Second Time Around said:

Mike, has anyone looked into whether Thanet Earth are breaking their planning permission?

Its actually been quite a big thing locally in the last couple of months. So I certainly know the relevant people are aware. 

[UKDiver]

15 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

Why do they need lights on all night ??

What are they growing.....cannabis ??

Whatever it is its appalling.

10% of the UK crop of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. I've passed the place many times and it does seem odd for them to waste so much energy in this fashion, although they are a net exporter of energy.

Edit: The blinds they are supposed to use must be breaking down as they did claim to only have 2% gaps for ventilation purposes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanet_Earth

I'm looking forwards to taking my kit for southerly views from Ramsgate, a compensation for having to go there in the first place.

Edited January 3, 2022 by UKDiver

[Ian McCallum]

1 hour ago, Broadymike said:

Its actually been quite a big thing locally in the last couple of months. So I certainly know the relevant people are aware. 

Knowing about it and acting on it are two different issues.😧

[Broadymike]

1 minute ago, Ian McCallum said:

Knowing about it and acting on it are two different issues.😧

Well there's only so much that us public can do. Unfortunately our local MP Craig Mckinlay is a terrible politician that I can't see giving a [removed word] about it, as he's more into whipping up anti immigrant rhetoric at the moment to try and keep his seat. I believe that there's a petition about to come to the end of its time (or possibly has already) that when I signed it was already over the threshold to force parliament to dicuss it.  

[Second Time Around]

Mike,  if you can find this petition, I'll sign it.

[Ian McCallum]

5 minutes ago, Broadymike said:

Well there's only so much that us public can do. Unfortunately our local MP Craig Mckinlay is a terrible politician that I can't see giving a [removed word] about it, as he's more into whipping up anti immigrant rhetoric at the moment to try and keep his seat. I believe that there's a petition about to come to the end of its time (or possibly has already) that when I signed it was already over the threshold to force parliament to dicuss it.  

I was referring to the powers that be, rather than the public.  Seems that there's many a toothless local and central government departments out there.

[PeterW]

Twickenham looks like a yellow/green alien invasion when they’re cooking their grass… worst on evenings when there is cloud to scatter off. 
Keep up the pressure so they either add proper blinds or turn the lights out after a specific time. There is plenty of evidence that light at night is no good for man and beast. Light pollution is a notifiable nuisance and food growing is not one of the (sadly) allowed exemptions.

Checked the 2021 viirs light lolly to on data… ouch, nasty red spot… it’s visible from space!

 

peter

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by PeterW
Addition.

[andy fearn]

Hi Mike, i too live in thanet but on the north coast and totally agree with you about thanet earth. they do have blinds closed but only on the sides of the greenhouses which really doesn't help us astronomers. And agree that blinds on the roof must be more advantageous. Its all about the cost.

[PeterW]

It’s more about their reputation, if enough people complain locally, to the councils and to their customers then they’ll have to change to stop the bad press… Starlink we’re pressured into changing their plans so their satellites were less annoying…. Keep up the pressure and hopefully you get your skies back and they keep making plentiful produce.

 

peter

[Louis D]

21 hours ago, Broadymike said:

Was just wondering if others have had similar issues with local big businesses wrecking their enjoyment of such a fascinating pastime?

In the 28 years I've lived in my current house, I've gone from Bortle 3/4 skies to Bortle 5/6 skies, or worse, depending on the direction.  When we moved out here, we had about 50 houses within a 4 mile radius and no businesses, just farmland surrounding us.  Now, we have at least 10,000 houses in that 4 mile radius, a 1000 foot wide tollway 1200 feet from my house, a major tollway interchange 2 miles southwest, a high school and middle school with regularly well lit athletic fields just 2.5 miles south, several gargantuan shopping plazas within a 4 mile radius (most SW to W to N), several all night big box stores with well lit parking lots, and two giant car dealerships that keep their lot lights on all night 5 miles to the northeast.  Only my eastern skies are still reasonably dark.  We're planning on moving once the wife and and I retire in a few years to someplace quieter and darker, but still reasonably near to the kids/grandkids.

As if light pollution wasn't enough, there's a neighboring city's amphitheater 2 miles NE that regularly hosts concerts that shake our houses.  That has gotten complaints, enough so that that city has tried and failed repeatedly to remediate the noise issue.  Unfortunately, I'm the only one complaining about the light pollution locally, so nothing happens on that front.  Nobody here but me wants to drive dark roads and walk through dark parking lots to the store.  It's so brightly lit that many folks forget to turn on their headlights while driving at night.

Edited January 3, 2022 by Louis D

[Broadymike]

3 hours ago, andy fearn said:

Hi Mike, i too live in thanet but on the north coast and totally agree with you about thanet earth. they do have blinds closed but only on the sides of the greenhouses which really doesn't help us astronomers. And agree that blinds on the roof must be more advantageous. Its all about the cost.

You're the 2nd person today on this forum I've seen from thanet. Small world eh lol. Im on the clifftop at stone bay so at least half my sky is over the sea. The only LP I can see to the east is occasionally the oil refinery in Dunkirk. But that's only on a cloudy night. 

They really need to sort something out. Theres already overwhelming evidence that it's affecting the local wildlife. Yourself and a few others have said it's all about the cost but to me that doesn't wash. Thanet earth make huge profits every year. They should be forced to rectify the situation.  

[ONIKKINEN]

I ran into this as well while browsing Light pollution and searching for good spots local to me.

There is the Helsinki nebula in the south, with around 1.5 million population producing the light pollution. Turku to the West and Tampere in between, all "big" cities. Then there is another nameless blob to the northwest, where the town of Närpes with less than 10k population is. Was wondering how its possible the light domes can be similar in size but turns out most of Finnish vegetables come from there! I have never heard anyone seriously considering doing anything about light pollution, but then again we do have immense areas of almost complete wilderness still left so maybe its not seen as a big issue here.

[Roy Cropper]

On 03/01/2022 at 21:42, Broadymike said:

You're the 2nd person today on this forum I've seen from thanet. 

I was born on the Isle, on the Manston road between Manston and Ramsgate (in a house, not on the actual road!) 

I'm a Man of Kent and proud of it, not some lightweight Kentish Man 🤭

I still have family there so visit once a month or so, although I live in Northamptonshire.

I was under the impression - quite possibly mistaken - that people are working at Planet Thanet overnight doing something or other, hence in large part the need for lighting so they can see what they're about. They should be shielding the rest of us from it though, it's a very poor show.

[ollypenrice]

Dutch members of SGL will sympathize. The Netherlands is traumatized by these light-blazing greenhouses which many of my guests come to escape for a while. I once asked if they had any dinnertime dislikes and was told, with a dry smile, 'Tomatoes.'  When I asked Why tomatoes?  one of the group slid his laptop over so I could see a picture of those monstrous orange-glowing fruit sheds...  

Olly

Edited January 18, 2022 by ollypenrice
Typo

[Broadymike]

9 hours ago, Roy Cropper said:

I was born on the Isle, on the Manston road between Manston and Ramsgate (in a house, not on the actual road!) 

I'm a Man of Kent and proud of it, not some lightweight Kentish Man 🤭

I still have family there so visit once a month or so, although I live in Northamptonshire.

I was under the impression - quite possibly mistaken - that people are working at Planet Thanet overnight doing something or other, hence in large part the need for lighting so they can see what they're about. They should be shielding the rest of us from it though, it's a very poor show.

You're right thanet earth there are workers there 24/7. The issue is that they think that putting blinds on the vertical glass walls would be enough to stop the light pollution. They don't however have any blinds on the glass roofs. This is the big issue. As you can see from the photos I posted its ridiculous the amount of light escaping. Hence they are Britain's 2nd worst light polluter. This has been an ongoing issue for a while and they have done nothing to try to rectify it.