We are writing to you to bring to your attention the Parish Council’s Dark Skies Policy. This policy was adopted by the Parish Council in 2023 to support the Dark Skies initiative, which aims to reduce the serious environmental consequences of light pollution on humans, wildlife and our climate.

Stiffkey is home to a wide diversity of wildlife and protected species, and we are striving to ensure that nighttime light pollution does not adversely impact on their environment, particularly for species that are active at night.

Light spill from outside lighting, security lighting, conservatories and decorative illumination is a major cause of light pollution. We are kindly requesting that homeowners consider being mindful of the impact of external light spillage. We recognise that solutions vary depending on need, but we hope that the following suggestions may provide workable solutions to allow those needs to be met, whilst helping us reduce light pollution from both external and internal domestic lighting:

• Only use lighting when and where it’s needed, point outdoor lights downwards.
• If safety is a concern, install motion detector lights and/or timers, rather than just leaving your lights on all the time.
• Properly shield all outdoor lights (or point them downwards).
• Keep your blinds and curtains drawn at night to keep light inside.

More information can be found at Dark-Skies-Policy

 We would like to thank you in advance for helping us be positive members of the Dark Skies Initiative.