First North York Moors dark skies friendly village lights the way for more communities to follow suit

Communities across the North York Moors can now gain recognition for the work they do to protect and enhance the quality of the night sky above their neighbourhood by meeting new standards launched by the National Park in the wake of Hawnby becoming its first Dark Skies Friendly Village.

The new community-focused extension to the Dark Skies Friendly scheme, first launched by the North York Moors National Park in 2019, follows the completion of the pilot whole-village lighting project it worked on with Mexborough Estates at Hawnby near Helmsley.

The announcement comes midway through this year’s Dark Skies Festival which is happening across both the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.

The Hawnby project has been part funded through section 106 payments which compensate for the impacts of major developments in the National Park. It involved converting over 100 lights on 30 properties within the village to ensure light is well targeted, at a suitable level and only used when needed.

The project’s completion means that Hawnby is one of the first villages in England to become dark skies friendly as a result of switching exterior lights on individual homes, properties and public spaces, including the village hall and the popular The Owl Inn, rather than focusing only on street lighting to minimise light pollution.

To become dark skies friendly under the National Park’s scheme, communities will need to show that at least 60% of exterior lighting is suitable. The National Park will provide templates to allow villages to carry out a mini audit to assess the lighting and identify where improvements are needed.

For instance, it’s often simply a case of adjusting the angle of an external light to reduce glare, swapping bulbs for warm white options or in some cases changing lights for more modern, lower energy dark skies friendly versions. Where changes are needed, funding assistance will be available as part of the National Park Authority’s dark skies friendly lighting improvement scheme.

As part of the eligibility criteria, budding Dark Skies Friendly Villages will also need to be prepared to hold several outreach events such as stargazing evenings each year which, as well as spreading the message about reducing light pollution, can also help the village economy.

Mike Hawtin, the North York Moors National Park’s Head of Nature Recovery Projects and Dark Skies lead officer explains: “We’d urge people to visit Hawnby and see how achievable it is to do something similar for their own community and realise this is not about being anti-light but using lighting in a more targeted, ‘where and when it’s needed’ way. We know much of the local population is passionate about protecting the tranquillity of their area and stopping the march of light pollution and through the Hawnby project we have learnt so much about the suitable new lighting technology that now exists.

“There are already some hamlets and villages, particularly those with few streetlights, that are likely to meet the eligibility criteria for achieving dark skies friendly status. However by recognising whole community efforts within the scheme, we hope it will encourage more bodies like parish councils to work with residents and businesses to make lighting improvements. This is particularly so in cases where people are moving into a neighbourhood, perhaps from a town or city, who are unaware of the detrimental impact that some lights can have on the environment.”

Mexborough Estates owner James Savile commented: “Right from the start we were keen to listen and work with the residents in Hawnby, rather than imposing the change upon them, and as a result the project has gathered momentum and local support.

“Not only do we feel as though we are collectively making a valuable contribution to protecting the pristine night skies here, but the feedback from residents has been very positive.

“We are all very proud to be a trailblazer in the UK for the Dark Skies Friendly campaign, which reduces light pollution and has so many tangible benefits for the environment.

"We are delighted to be attracting night sky and stargazing enthusiasts during the Dark Skies Festival and know they will be welcomed with open arms in our village and at The Owl, our flourishing inn with rooms in the heart of Hawnby.”

Villages and other communities can find out more about the new Dark Skies Friendly scheme here.

The Dark Skies Festival continues until 25 February.