An application by the end of the month and an award by the end of the year is the hope of the Isle of Wight campaigners behind a bid for dark skies accreditation.
A formal application should be submitted to the International Dark Skies Association, in Texas, by June and the Island could become one of just 7 areas in England to win the title.
Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said the next stage is to get letters of support from Vectis Astronomical Society and town and parish councils.
After more than 6 years, an area encompassing Freshwater, Chale and the edge of Newport could soon be in a newly created dark skies park which has been hailed as a potential major boost to the Island’s tourist industry.
A previous application was rejected with street lights among pollution concerns. However, replacements were agreed in 2022 at a cost of almost £50,000 as previously reported by Island Echo.
Cleaningup the island and beaches and dropping parking charges would definitely get mor tourists here.
LOL, yeah, that’s always how I choose my holiday destination:
« they have no parking charges, there will be so many cars everywhere, what a treat! »
This incompetent greedy council charges 24/7 365 days a year parking charges on
Seafronts, even Portsmouth and Southsea are not that greedy.
What with extorninate Ferry Fares who in their right mind would holiday on the
Island.
Sandown is in a right old state.
This incompetent greedy council charges 24/7 365 days a year parking charges on
Seafronts, even Portsmouth and Southsea are not that greedy.
What with extorninate Ferry Fares who in their right mind would holiday on the
Island.
Sandown is in a right old state
Great news. It’ll also scupper future large planning applications. The only thing is with the extortionate ferry costs tourism is reduced because once people factor in those costs all of a sudden it’s cheaper to go elsewhere. The IOW economy is held to ransom in the warmer months by two greedy transport companies and the most stupid thing of all is they are continually allowed to do so. Take a look at Arrans ferry, similar distance but subsidised travel. Last time I took a large car with 4 passengers over from Ardrossan to Brodick, just before lockdown, it cost me less than £50 return.
Likely to push large planning applications to the non-dark skies area, such is what is happening now. Towns are becoming larger conurbations and over-populated with over-subscribed resources. This council don’t seem to care about this.
A giant waste of money. Meanwhile vital services are cut. Thousands are stuck on the housing register. Useless council after useless council.
I hope it is successful. With all the building and every house now needing for some reason outside lights, they might have a problem.
The amount of light pollution caused by unnecessary outside lighting is unacceptable, try for instance the four large lights left on all night at St saviours school totland, the place is aglow as well as the surrounding properties. Let alone the pretentious types who absolutely must illuminate their bloody gate posts!
If our council cared there would be strict local bylaws in place.
For buildings with multiple flats or schools it can often be a case of new fire safety regulations created after Greenfield that government throws at everyone without much thinking whatsoever. Can’t override it with local bylaws. We have a building with just 2 floors and must add safety flood lights on every corner, entrance etc. because gov says so.
The only titles for the island to achieve are overspill,drugs/drink driving and turning vehicles over.Keep telling you ready made dark skies in Yarmouth, Seaview and parts of Bembridge for 3/4 of the year already.
Dark skies but more massive housing estates and large swathes of the island being concreted over ? The new social housing development they built in Shalfleet is lit up like a Christmas tree at night so multiply that by a few hundred and it will be like a monochrome black pool illumination over here – the only time it will go dark is when we get the rolling blackouts after they switch off all our fossil fuelled power station and we are left to the mercy of flaky, unreliable and unpredictable ‘renewable’ energy
On Ryde Esplanade between the pier and Eastern Gardens there are 18 street lights and they are just putting up another outside Vokins Rise, these lights are on full power all night and it means having to fit blackout blinds on bedroom windows if you want to sleep, this is stupidity at its worst.
Dark nights means you won’t be able to see the sh!t on the streets. Might encourage more tourists this way I suppose.
Stop building flipping houses which cause light pollution !
Would never increase tourism,why would anyone pay £150/£200 ferry cost to see same sky from anywhere in South ?. More likely to decrease it as less night time events and more dangerous and more crime in the dark.
They could start by removing those hideous illuminated green ASDA signs.