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Dark skies

Abigail Oliver

CPRE believes that darkness at night is one of the key characteristics of rural areas and it represents a major difference between what is rural and what is urban.

Light doesn’t respect boundaries; it can spread for miles from the source and blurs the distinction between town and country. Light spilling up into the night sky is also a waste of energy and money, and can account for between 15-30% of a council’s carbon emissions.

Light pollution in our area

There are huge variations in the amount of light pollution in Lancashire, with the Forest of Bowland AONB (which has been granted Dark Sky Discover Site status) contrasting with the conurbations of Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. This year’s star count took place from 26th February to 6th March, and the results will enable us to build a picture of whether the situation is improving or getting worse.

See CPRE’s dedicated website, Night Blight, for the findings of previous star counts.