CAMPAIGNERS in Warminster have warned that a proposed new housing development could result in a loss of dark sky at night.

They say plans to build 28 new homes at Damask Way could pose a major threat to local wildlife.

Housing developer Backhouse (Warminster) Ltd wants to build 28 new homes on land east of Damask Way and east of Upper Marsh Road and north of Smallbrook Lane in Warminster.

The development already has outline planning permission by Wiltshire Council and the latest application - due to be decided this month - is about the exact form that development should take.

Iain Perkins, of environmental campaign group Sustainable Warminster, said: "The light pollution from this high-ground development that overlooks the Wylyle Wildlife Corridor across to the AONB and Salisbury Plain will certainly impact and affect our cherished wildlife including bats, otters, badgers and toads to owls and moths and our night views forever."

"All this has not been sufficiently considered when outline permission was given and we ask the people of Warminster to send a strong message to Wiltshire Council to say that it should.

"We share the CPRE’s frustration with local authorities, that darkness at night is one of the key characteristics of rural areas and it represents a major difference between what is rural and what is urban."

"Security lights, floodlights and streetlights all break into the darkness and create a veil of light across the night sky.

"While some of this light is necessary, much of it is wasting energy, shining upwards where it isn’t needed, spilling into homes, disrupting people’s sleep and affecting the behaviour of wildlife. The quality of our lives and natural world is being diminished by light pollution.

"Please write to your MP, local councillors, Wiltshire Council's landscape team and visit our website to sign our petition which has already captured over 2,300 views."

To sign the petition, go to change.org/p/wiltshire-council-save-warminster-s-biodiversity-for-future-generations-to-enjoy