{"id":605330,"date":"2026-05-26T19:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/605330\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T19:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:36:10","slug":"starthnairn-astronomy-group-back-highland-council-dark-skies-policy-to-cut-light-pollution-in-new-building-developments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/605330\/","title":{"rendered":"Starthnairn astronomy group back Highland Council \u2018dark skies\u2019 policy to cut light pollution in new building developments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Highland astronomy group has welcomed proposals for a new planning policy<\/a> aimed at reducing light pollution across the region.<\/p>\n

The Strathnairn Stargazing Group<\/a> says it supports Highland Council<\/a>\u2019s move to consider a draft \u2018Dark Skies\u2019 planning policy<\/a> at a meeting of its Economy and Infrastructure Committee later this month.<\/p>\n

If approved, Highland could become one of the first local authorities in the UK to formally protect night skies through development policy.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Milky Way over Loch Ruthven, Strathnairn. Picture: David Huxtable-Reid.<\/p>\n

The move comes amid growing interest in protecting the Highlands\u2019 dark skies, with campaigners highlighting environmental and tourism benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who has stood outside on a clear night in Strathnairn or Stratherrick knows how special these skies are\u201d<\/p>\n

Based south-west of Inverness, the Strathnairn Stargazing Group is leading a joint application to DarkSky International<\/a> for Dark Sky Community accreditation covering Strathnairn and Stratherrick and Foyers.<\/p>\n

The bid is supported by both local community councils and their community benefit funds, and has confirmed backing from organisations including the John Muir Trust and Strathnairn Heritage Association.<\/p>\n

If successful, the area would become the second dark sky community in Scotland, following the Isle of Coll.<\/p>\n

Group chair Dr Andy McGregor said the Highlands\u2019 night skies are a valuable environmental asset that should be protected through practical planning measures.<\/p>\n

“Anyone who has stood outside on a clear night in Strathnairn or Stratherrick knows how special these skies are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are an environmental asset in their own right – good for wildlife, biodiversity & nature restoration, good for residents extended to their health and well-being, and increasingly important to the visitors who come here specifically for the stars and the Northern Lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr McGregor added that the group supports the councils proposal.<\/p>\n

He said: “What we welcome about the council’s approach is that it is practical. It is about mitigating light polluting sources through getting lighting right in new developments from the outset, which is easier and cheaper than trying to fix things afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a clear picture of just how dark the skies above the straths really are, plus how we can inform and educate developers, and we would be glad to share that work with council officers as they develop the policy.”<\/p>\n

The Economy and Infrastructure Committee will decide whether to proceed with developing the draft policy for consultation on Thursday, May 28.<\/p>\n

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here<\/a> to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Highland astronomy group has welcomed proposals for a new planning policy aimed at reducing light pollution across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1397,16338,913,90,416,56,54,55,7741,3520],"class_list":["post-605330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-environment","tag-highland-council","tag-latest-news","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-update-me","tag-whats-on-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}