Tranquillity and Dark Skies are key characteristics of the Isle of Wight AONB.
Tranquil places allow people to relax and to escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life. They contribute to people’s health and well-being and allow opportunities to experience ‘peace and quiet’. Tranquil areas are defined as places unspoilt by urban influences being sufficiently far away from the visual or noise intrusion of artificial light, development, or traffic. Tranquillity is a human concept and does not include the impacts of the mentioned influences on the disturbance of wildlife. Some noises which can be experienced in the countryside positively contribute to tranquillity, such as bird song, animal calls and the wind rustling through trees and reeds.
The Isle of Wight AONB has a low population and relatively low levels of development, giving the opportunity to experience tranquillity. This is confirmed through the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Tranquillity Mapping58 showing the Isle of Wight AONB more tranquil than other parts of the Isle of Wight and south-east England. Within the Isle of Wight AONB, it is easy to find somewhere tranquil, in secretive woodlands, on top of open down land, in hidden coves or at sea.
Dark Skies are special areas where there is little ambient light pollution and on a clear night many stars can be seen. They are becoming harder to find in the UK due to increased light sources spilling into the night skies. Artificial light has done much to safeguard and enhance our night-time environment but, if not properly controlled or designed, obtrusive light (sometimes referred to as light pollution) can present serious physiological and ecological problems. The recent CPRE Star Count 202359 shows that the west Wight suffers far less light pollution than the east.
Sustaining the Landscape
Several authoritative studies have shown that the benefits of tranquillity include:
- Tranquillity helps the economy – The tranquillity of rural areas attracts visitors to the Isle of Wight AONB.
- Tranquillity is good for our health – Studies have found that experiencing the natural environment reduces blood pressure, reduce heart attacks, increases mental performance, and soothes anxiety. In addition, it has been shown that playing in a natural environment has a positive impact on children’s development.
- Tranquillity reduces stress – there is convincing evidence of the importance of the natural environment in helping people to recover from stress, and that one of the primary reasons for visiting natural environments is to escape the stress of urban areas and to experience tranquillity and solitude.
As well as contributing to the quality of life for residents, Dark Skies are an economic as well as a cultural and scientific asset, which make a valuable contribution to tourism by attracting people to the Isle of Wight AONB.
Management Influences
In 2016 National Resources Wales defined tranquillity as:
‘An untroubled state, which is peaceful, calm and free from unwanted disturbances. This can refer to a state of mind or a particular environment. Tranquillity can be measured in terms of the absence of unwanted intrusions, or by a balancing of positive and negative factors. These include the presence of nature, feeling safe, visually pleasing surroundings and a relaxing atmosphere60.”
The Landscape Institute and IEMA ‘Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Assessment’61 define it as ‘a state of calm and quietude associated with peace, considered to be a significant asset of landscape’.
The National Planning Policy Framework10 looks to ‘identify and protect areas of tranquillity which remain relatively undisturbed by noise and are prized for their recreational and amenity value for this reason’. It also states that ‘by encouraging good design, planning policies and decisions should limit the light pollution from artificial light on local amenity, intrinsically dark landscapes and nature conservation’.
There is an increasing aspiration to achieve International Dark Sky Association recognition for the Island with Isle of Wight AONB as the core ‘Dark Sky’ resource. Vectis Astronomical Society, CPRE, IW National Landscape and the local authority, are working towards an adoption of a specific Dark Skies policy. Also, an application is being prepared to the International Dark Skies Association (IDA) to designate a Dark Skies area in the south-western area of the Isle of Wight AONB.
Policies for Tranquillity and Dark Skies
These policies should be read in conjunction with the overarching objectives for the Isle of Wight AONB as detailed in Section 3.13.
P14 Promote and celebrate the value and contribution of tranquillity and dark skies to the landscape quality of the Isle of Wight AONB as well as to the enjoyment, health and well-being and the rural economy.
P15 Ensure that appropriate considerations are given to the impact upon the tranquillity and dark skies in all development proposals affecting the Isle of Wight AONB and encourage exterior lighting design that reflects Institute of Lighting Professionals Environmental Zone 1 guidance or any superseding best practice advice.
Priorities for Delivery
- Develop initiatives to engage communities, tourists, and business to support tranquillity and Dark Skies.
- Ensure a Dark Skies policy is adopted by the local authority as part of its new Island Planning Strategy and support formalised IDA recognition of part of the Isle of Wight AONB as a Dark Skies area.