Our area is fortunate to enjoy properly dark and star-studded skies, as part of the South Downs National Park’s International Dark Sky Reserve (IDSR) – This is England’s second IDSRs and one of only 16 in the world. As well as enjoying the amazing beauty of these skies, effort is also required to keep light pollution to an absolute minimum. For example:
- Local lighting authorities are gradually replacing the National Park’s 2,700 streetlights with models that comply with Dark Sky standards.
- The South Downs National Park Authority is using its role as a planning authority to protect the dark skies above the National Park through policies about lighting requirements that developers need to meet.
- Householders also need to help protect the dark skies, by following the simple guidelines shown on this page when choosing outdoor lighting.
