Visionaries who have shepherded Naseby’s application to be Central Otago’s first Dark Sky Precinct have welcomed the public notification by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) of Plan Change 22.

The plan change is an amendment to the district plan which supports the protection, maintenance and enhancement of the night sky from the adverse effects of artificial lighting. 

The provisions would initially apply to the Naseby Township but, over time, the section could be extended to apply to other areas across the district.

The project has been driven by community organisation Naseby Vision.

John Crawford, who was chairman of the group in 2016 when the project began, said it had been a long gestation period.

“It’s been about eight years, we’re heading into nine."

We hoped the public would support the application, saying the Naseby community had always supported the project.

Project manager Jill Woolf, another Naseby Vision former chair, said it was exciting to have reached this stage and that dark sky designation would not require much change for Naseby residents, but would bring added tourism opportunities.

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“Most people are pretty good with their lighting anyway,” she said.

“Nobody has spotlights or upward-facing lighting out here.

“I just see it as another opportunity for small tourism-type activities that will bring economic growth to the area.”

Astrophysicist Paul Bishop, who moved to Naseby to set up Night Sky Tours, taking visitors to ideal places to view and photograph the region’s stunning night skies and auroras, also welcomed the next step in the small town gaining Dark Sky Precinct accreditation.

“I came here in 2018 and the process had already started,” he said.

Paul plots the number of visitors that take his tours and said the daily average was increasing.

“I had a family of five two nights ago,” he said, yesterday.

“They were down from Christchurch. They were down here some time ago, I think at King’s Birthday weekend and came into the office and bought a photo."

On their return trip to Naseby, they wanted to take the tour, he said

The CODC has notified Plan Change 22, with public submissions closing at 4pm on Friday, November 10.

Full details of the proposed plan change can be viewed on the council’s Let’s Talk page and in hard copy at council service centres and libraries.

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