Dear Mrs. Robinson

I would like to draw your attention to the Campaign for Dark Skies which is recently gathering momentum on National news and local media.

The Campaign for Dark Skies (CfDS) was set up by concerned members of the BAA in 1989 to counter the ever-growing tide of skyglow which has tainted the night sky over Britain since the 1950's, mostly as a result of poorly aimed streetlights and floodlights emitting light above the horizontal into the sky, but nowadays increasingly because of vastly over-powered and poorly mounted household security lights, and sports facility lights.

It has been shown that Full Cut Off street lamps can be placed further apart due to the much better directivity of the light which then provides better, more consistent lighting for roads and also helps a long way to reduce light pollution.

The M5 motorway was recently relit with FCOs - 4 FCOs for every 5 old, glary lights, so they are actually now further apart. It's column height and the optical reflectors in the lamps which control the light spread, not the distance between them.

To our children.....the stars! info about regaining the night sky for everyone.

The recent building work of the Comber bypass has prompted me to e-mail you so as to make sure that the streetlights installed are using Full Cut Off lamps. The bypass will be of huge benefit to relieve congestion in the area and I hope that it will also be a forward thinking project as to the concerns of local residents.

While coming home a few nights ago from Dundonald, I saw, in the distance, a skyglow over Comber. I was saddened by this as God's creation of the stars and the milky way is one of the most awesome sights anyone can behold. The main cause of the skyglow that night was the Comber Cricket grounds. Although the lights are not in use every night, the design of the floodlights is very poor and results in a lot of wasted light pointing above the horizon and so contributing to the skyglow.The CfDS gives awards to local councils which have fitted or modified lighting that reduces light pollution to a minimum and Ards Borough Council could be one of those. Recent awards have gone to Devon and East Dorset County councils. There are many astronomers in the County Down area who would welcome any announcement like this and I know that the local Astronomical Society (who meet regularly at Castle Espie) would welcome this with open arms. Light pollution is currently a serious problem in Northern Ireland and at the moment, I don't see any signs of it reducing.