By Chris Welby, Good Energy’s commercial director

Government, both central and local, church and business leaders and even royalty (in the form of the Prince of Wales) are all in agreement.  We need to fight climate change and we need to stop wasting energy.  Why then do all these bodies insist on floodlighting public buildings at night?

I am not against street lighting for safety reasons.  It serves a purpose and makes people in cities and towns feel safer (although I live in a village with no street lighting, and find a torch quite sufficient). But bathing a building in light for no other purpose than to make it look good, just seems a bad reason to use energy.  

Do we really need to see our great architectural buildings at night?  Many, including nearly all our cathedrals, were built long before electric lighting and manage to impress whilst only being visible during daylight hours.  Indeed, I’m sure many of us can think of a few eyesores (mainly office buildings), which are also floodlit, and would be better kept in the dark.

If government, church and business leaders and the Prince of Wales want us all to do our bit, then can I suggest they start at their own places of business and stop filling the sky with light for no purpose than the vanity of the institution concerned.

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