Wellesbourne residents' fight to tackle the night light
LIGHT pollution from Wellesbourne Distribution Park is so bright it looks like a Premier League football stadium, a distant neighbour has claimed.
Residents say the night-time glow from some businesses on the park can be seen for several miles away, prompting comparisons with an airport or a large town. They are stepping up their bid to get firms to alter their lighting control systems so there is less impact on homes, wildlife and the rural landscape.
Some businesses have listened to the concerns and made alterations, but the glow goes on at other firms impacting Wellesbourne and other nearby villages. Loxley resident Nick Murray told the Herald: “It looks like a Premier League football stadium is in permanent residence at Wellesbourne. You can see it from Loxley Hill and Moreton Morrell. If you look towards Stratford there’s no glow from the town and yet 31,000 people live there.
“It’s just madness to the environment and wildlife when we’re being encouraged to look after both, and when we’re being told to save energy because electricity is so expensive. It’s unneighbourly, unsightly, unattractive and an unwelcome blot on our landscape.
“I genuinely believe there’s a lack of awareness about the level of light pollution, even though the problem at the distribution park has been ongoing for two or three years. Lighting is used continuously for 16 hours a day during the winter months.”
Mr Murray believes at least one of the companies running night-time lights is not a 24-hour operation. He said a number of residents had contacted that company, but there had not been any response.
“The only solution is to sit down round a table in the interests of good neighbourliness and review the light situation. For me this pollution is like graffiti or seeing fly-tipping or rubbish on a pavement, it sullies the neighbourhood,” Mr Murray said.
David Edwards, from Moreton Morrell, has the same concerns and described the scene when returned home from work at 2am.
“It’s staggering. It looks like a huge airport or a town,” he said. “I used to be an environmental health officer so I’m aware about light pollution and the statutory nuisance it can cause if its blaring into a bedroom or a living space and the night scare that impacts on wildlife. It is possible to reduce the light and protect the night sky. North Norfolk District Council has a dark skies officer and the council makes a real effort to look after its skyline assets. I wonder what could be done with a bit of goodwill from the companies on the distribution park.”
It can be done. One business on the park did agree to adjust its lights.
Wellesbourne resident Simon Howes said: “Following conversations with a representative from Wixey Transport, they have agreed to alter their lighting and have turned off some of their lights so they’ve been very cooperative.”
Cllr Anne Prior, chairman of Wellesbourne Parish Council said: “We have had a positive response from one of the businesses on the park – Wixey Transport - which is excellent and now we are looking for responses from other businesses.”
District councillor Anne Parry told a recent meeting of Wellesbourne Parish Council that the district council cannot act over light pollution from the distribution park because some lights needed to be on all night for the safety of workers. The district council previously told the Herald a large number of units on the site operate 24/7 so there is a need for some lighting. It added: “Unfortunately there is no legal framework to retrospectively tackle light pollution.”
John Wharam of the CPRE said: “The star count of the constellation of Orion which we ask people to monitor has shown a slight improvement over the last ten years and that's down to a reduction in light pollution caused by streetlights and householders turning lights off, so this has reversed the trend, but the activities at Wellesbourne could harm wildlife and human health.”
