Be a part of Star Count 2022: it's almost with us!

For two weeks in February and March 2022, we’re again asking for your help in looking up at the heavens. Can you help us by counting stars to measure our dark skies?
We think that dark and starry skies are a special part of our countryside. Nothing beats looking upwards to see velvety blackness, with twinkling constellations as far as the eye can see.
Our buildings and roads emit light, though, and this can affect our view of truly dark skies. We want to make sure that we can all enjoy starlit nights and we need your help in measuring what effect light is having on our views of the galaxy.

What is Star Count?
The best way to see how many stars we can all see in the sky is… to count them! So we’re asking people from all across the country to become ‘citizen scientists’ and look heavenwards for one night. Join in by choosing a clear night between Saturday, February 26, and Sunday, March 6, and becoming a stargazer. Pop the dates in your diary now!
With brilliant support from the British Astronomical Association, we’re asking you to look up at the constellation Orion and let us know how many stars you can count. Don’t worry: we’ll give plenty of support on how to do this. Once you’ve done your star-spotting, we’ll share a form with you where you can quickly and easily send us your count – and then we get busy with our number-crunching.
Your results from Star Count will help us make a map of where star-spotters are enjoying deep, dark skies. By showing on a map where light pollution is most serious, we can work with local councils and others to decide what to do about it.
Better still, Star Count is also a great way to switch off from the distractions of daily life and reconnect with nature. Look up at the cosmos and… breathe.

How to take part in Star Count
Here are a few top tips for a brilliant Star Count evening:

1. Try to pick a clear night for your count, with no haze or clouds, then wait until after 7pm so the sky is really dark.
2. Looking south into the night sky, find the Orion constellation, with its four corners and ‘three-star belt’.
3. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness for as long as possible (we recommend at least 20 minutes), then count the stars that you can see within the four corners of Orion (check out the picture above, which shows you how).
4. Make a note of the number of stars seen with the naked eye and submit your count on our website when the results page opens that week.
5. Share your experiences (and any photos) with others on social media using #StarCount
6. And don’t forget to check back to see the national results and how your area compares to the rest of the country!

Get ready to count!
Remember, you can do your 2022 Star Count on any night between February 26 and March 6. Make a note of the dates now and keep your eyes peeled for weather forecasts nearer the time to pick a night with skies that are as clear as possible.

Sign up now to take part and for more information about Star Count, including top tips for the best times to see Orion and more information about why we care so much about our magical dark sky views.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART

And in the meantime, you can read about the surprising results of our 2021 Star Count and get the stargazing bug with our beginner’s guide to stargazing and our list of the top dark sky spots in England.
And in the meantime, you can read about the surprising results of our 2021 Star Count and get the stargazing bug with our beginner’s guide to stargazing and our list of the top dark sky spots in England.

Monday, February 21, 2022

• A number of important documents have yet to emerge. For example, a rigorous transport plan and a finalised air-quality assessment. The latter is critical given that allocations at Teynham will feed extra traffic into AQMAs.
• There seems to be no coherent plan for infrastructure delivery – a key component of the plan given the allocations being proposed near the already crowded Junction 7.
• There seems to have been little or no cooperation with neighbouring boroughs or even parish councils within Swale itself.

The removal of a second consultation might have been understandable if this final version of the plan were similar to that being talked about at the beginning of the consultation process. It is, however, radically different in the following ways:

• There has been a major shift in the balance of housing allocations, away from the west of the borough over to the east, especially around the historic town of Faversham. This is a move that raises many concerns.
• A new large allocation, with accompanying A2 bypass, has appeared around Teynham and Lynsted, to which we are objecting.
• Housing allocations in the AONB around Neames Forstal that were judged “unsuitable” by the council’s own officers have now appeared as part of the housing numbers.
• Most of the housing allocations being proposed are on greenfield sites, many of them on Grade 1 agricultural land – a point to which we are strongly objecting.

Concerns about the rush to submit the plan

The haste with which the plan is being prepared is especially worrying given the concentration of housing in Faversham. If the town is to take a large amount of new housing, it is imperative that the policies concerning the area are carefully worked out to preserve, as far as possible, the unique nature of the town. The rush to submit the plan is likely to prove detrimental.

As Swale does not have a five-year land housing supply, it is open to speculative development proposals, many of which would run counter to the ideas contained in the current plan. Some are already appearing. This is a common situation, and one that, doubtless, is a reason behind Swale’s haste.

Our overriding fear, however, is that this emphasis on haste is ultimately going to prove counterproductive. This is because it is our view that the plan, in its current form, is unlikely to pass independent examination. We are urging Swale to listen to and act upon the comments being made about the plan and to return the plan to the council with appropriate modifications before submitting it to the Secretary of State.

Essentially, this means treating the current consultation not as the final one but as the ‘lost’ second consultation.

The consultation ends on Friday 30 April and we strongly urge residents to make their opinions known if they have not already done so.

Further information

• Read more on the Swale Local Plan
• Read CPRE Kent’s detailed comments on the plan
• View the council’s consultation document