Draft dark skies guidance drawn up for the Highlands

Highland Council has produced draft guidance aimed at reducing light pollution to give stargazers clearer views of the night sky.

Officials said other benefits of minimising outdoor lighting included lower carbon emissions and energy costs.

The guidance would support communities wishing to set up dark sky sites, which are locations with little or no light pollution.

Builders of major developments in or near dark sky sites would be required to carry out a lighting assessment to justify the need for exterior lights.

Councillors meeting next week have been asked to approve the draft guidance.

It would then be put out for public consultation before a finalised version of the document was produced.

The guidance could form part of Highland Council's proposed Highland Local Development Plan (HLDP), which is due to be published next year.

The HLDP would set out areas of the region to be zoned for housing or other developments.

In a report, officials said the proposed guidance would encourage best practice in terms of minimising exterior lighting to only what was necessary for safety and security.

They said: "There are environmental benefits in terms of reduced emissions and lower adverse impacts on humans and wildlife, financial benefits in reduced energy usage and bills, and tourism economy benefits in terms of retaining and enhancing visitors' ability to enjoy the night sky."

In the report, planting trees and fencing have been suggested report as ways of reducing the glare of outside lights.

Officials acknowledged that some communities would prefer to have exterior lighting for safety reasons.

The local authority has previously said the Highlands, which has large, sparsely populated areas, offered astronomy fans some of the darkest skies in Europe.

In 2024, the Isle of Rum, which is in the Highland Council area, was named Scotland's first International Dark Sky Sanctuary by the organisation DarkSky International.