Light Pollution

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 now makes light nuisance subject to the same criminal law as noise and smells. It applies to "artificial light emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance".

What is Light Pollution?

Artificial light is essential in our modern society. However the increased use of light can cause problems. These include:

• People's sleep being disturbed by bright lights.
• The excessive brightness and poor alignment of some domestic
• and commercial security lights and sports ground floodlights.
• The brightening of the 'sky glow' over towns and roads which obscures the night sky.
• Detrimental effects on wildlife.
• Concern about energy wasted by excessive lighting.

Light pollution or nuisance, involves several associated problems: light nuisance (the unwelcome intrusion of light from nearby premises, especially into bedrooms), sky-glow (damage to the night sky environment above), and glare, which causes discomfort and may be a hazard to road users and pedestrians.

Until April 2006, victims of light related nuisance had one action open to them; they may take a civil action in private nuisance out against the offender, where they had to prove the existence of the nuisance (usually defined as an adverse state of affairs interfering with an individuals use and enjoyment of his/her property).

In the case of new developments, the best method of dealing with light pollution is at the planning stage, pre-empting any light waste by influencing the design of lighting schemes via the planning department of your local council and by aiming at the insertion of lighting clauses in your council's local plan.

Courses of action

1.      If you are in a dispute involving lighting, you should take plenty of notes. You should carefully record all the instances when the offending lighting is causing a nuisance (eg. the light has been on for over an hour for 15 nights within the last month.)

2.      Approach the offender in a diplomatic, friendly manner. This succeeds in the majority of cases, when adjustment of the lamp or of timings will sometimes be all that is needed. Offenders often do not realise that they are causing a problem. Be polite. It has been estimated that nearly 70 per cent of cases are resolved in this way.

3.      If a polite approach fails, contact your council's environmental health officer, who may be willing to mediate.

4.      Be aware of proposals for lighting locally, and make sure that the planning officer is acting positively on this aspect of developments.

5.      Mediation: many areas have mediation services, which may prove quicker and cheaper than going to law.

If all else fails, you could sue the offender. You will be expected to use the small claims court in the county court if your claim is for less than £5,000 in compensation. Here, the system puts complainant and defendant together without the use of solicitors and barristers, so keeping the costs down and the procedure less formal.

The Council would like to thank East Devon Council for their help in compiling this page.