Dedham Vale hamlet named England’s first International Dark Sky Community
Dark skies are denied to too many people... campaigners ensured that wasn't the case at Thorington Street
England has its first International Dark Sky Community… and it’s on the Essex-Suffolk border.
Thorington Street lies deep within beautiful Dedham Vale and its designation comes after some 13 years of campaigning led by the Dedham Vale Society.
Although just 12 miles north of Colchester and a similar distance from Ipswich, the hamlet, comprising some 40-odd houses, sits in the middle of the Dedham Vale and Stour Valley National Landscape and is a haven of tranquillity that is essentially unaffected by light pollution.
The designation was made by DarkSky International, which paid tribute to the campaign by local people. The organisation’s Dan Oakley said: “The level of commitment to achieve Dark Sky status from such a small community was amazing. Their influence on the wider National Landscape in adopting a lighting management plan was a key component of their success and will undoubtedly inspire other places to follow their example.”
Thorington Street becomes only the seventh International Dark Sky Community in the UK, with all the others lying outside England. Such communities are defined by DarkSky International as having “shown exceptional dedication to the preservation of the night sky through the implementation and enforcement of a quality outdoor lighting ordinance, dark sky education, and citizen support of dark skies”.
The campaign for Thorington Street entailed lobbying parish councillors and local MPs, while churches, schools, businesses, pubs and restaurants were among those leafleted. More than 100 events were held and it is thought some 7,000 people were reached.
The DVS is aiming for the designation to ultimately include “most if not all of the Vale”, while the effects of the campaign are already being felt, with, for example, the National Trust allowing its Tudor barn, garden and neighbouring field to be used as a Dark Sky Discovery Centre. It is hoped that astrotourism can become established in the hamlet.
CPRE Essex worked with the Dedham Vale Society on this campaign, while nationally CPRE has highlighted the importance of dark skies – it has produced a light pollution and dark skies map that you can view here
To visit the Dedham Vale Society website, click here
To visit the DarkSky International website, click here