A new Highland Council policy, aimed at influencing some lighting requirements in new developments, will be considered by the Economy and Infrastructure Committee tomorrow.
The proposed Dark Skies Draft Planning Policy sets out how the Council could reduce light pollution across Highland, supporting environmental protection, and financial and tourism benefits.
The wide-ranging benefits of reducing light pollution include:
• Lower energy use, costs and carbon emissions
• Protection of wildlife and nocturnal habitats and
• Improved health and wellbeing, including better sleep.
The proposed policy would not influence existing lighting issues that are not subject to planning control.
Newly elected Highlands MSP, David Baxter, has demanded a dedicated parliamentary group to examine the A9 dualling programme.
It follows a pledge by the new presiding officer, Kenneth Gibson, to transform the way parliament works, with the aim of being more efficient and effective.
Mr Baxter insisted that dualling the A9 is vitally important for the Highlands, to both improve road safety and to boost the Highland economy.
Noting that NASA put a man on the moon in eleven years, yet theA9 programme had so far taken twenty, he concluded that a dedicated committee would maintain momentum on a long-running, multisession infrastructure project of this nature.
Celebrations are taking place across the world today as over fifty countries mark World Otter Day.
The day was established by the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) to help draw attention to otters and raise awareness and support for their conservation globally.
To raise the profile of otters, IOSF has produced a social media pack to help create posts.
This includes ready-made posts covering all 14 otter species, together with content highlighting illegal wildlife trade, conservation threats, and promoting peaceful human–otter coexistence.
Further information is available on their website.
www.otter.org/world-otter-day
