Businesses offered grants for dark skies-friendly lighting in Northumberland - last call for applications

The project, funded by energy snack company, CLIF Bar, is part of their first round of conservation grants to National Parks in the UK.

Northumberland National Park, including Kielder Water and Forest Park, is part of the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park – England’s first and Europe’s second largest International Dark Sky Park.

Some areas of the park are fully designated dark-skies and therefore no new artificial outdoor lighting is permitted.

Businesses and residents living in the park can apply for funding to help them adapt or replace any outside lighting that might be unshielded or too bright, which could be contributing to light pollution beyond their boundary and impacting upon our dark skies.

Duncan Wise, visitor development and marketing manager at Northumberland National Park, said: “We are proud to have such pristine skies here in Northumberland. This is a great opportunity for residents and businesses in the Park to help conserve our dark skies for the future and install the lighting they need for safety and security.

“It is estimated that over £1billion is wasted in the UK through poorly-installed, badly designed and inefficient outdoor lighting every year, yet environmentally friendly solutions which are fully-shielded are becoming more and more affordable.”

The Northumberland International Dark Skies Park has recently been credited with bringing over £25 million of dark skies tourism to the region.

Applicants are invited to contact Duncan Wise for an informal discussion at [email protected].