Sky’s the limit as Kielder planetarium project is approved
MAKING the most of the pollutionfree dark skies over rural Northumberland is a shining example of reaping the benefits of one of the county’s natural assets.
Now another development is in the pipeline to boost what is a bright spot in Northumberland’s economy – with planning approval having been won for a planetarium at the Kielder observatory.
The planetarium, clad in scorched larch timber, will join the two observatories at the Black Fell site, the second of which opened earlier this year.
The Kielder attraction is marking its 10th anniversary and now attracts 23,000 visitors annually.
The planetarium project comes as the potential of stargazing and dark skies denied to urban dwellers – around 85% of the UK population has never seen a truly dark sky or experienced a clear night filled with billions of stars – was outlined at an event in Redesdale.
It marked the fifth anniversary of the designation of the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park, which is Europe’s largest area of protected night sky at 572 square miles.
Initial findings from a study for the anniversary shows last year dark skies tourism was worth more than £25m to the county, generating around 450 jobs and £128m since 2013.
Fund-raising will now start to finance the planetarium project, which has been taken up by Newcastle-based JDDK Architects and will cost between £120,000£150,000 – with the aim of opening the new attraction next summer.
It will widen the Kielder observatory’s offer to include daytime activities or for use on cloudy, poor visibility nights or summer evenings when it is light until late.
JDDK principal architect Alison Thornton-sykes, who designed The Sill landscape discovery centre in Northumberland National Park, which includes a star gazing observation platform, said: “The domed planetarium is set down into the landscape so distant views to the horizon are not obscured.”
The long-term aspiration at Kielder is to create an “astronomy village” with a possible second planetarium and overnight visitor accommodation.
Observatory operations director John Holmes said Kielder was part of a growing network of stargazing sites in Northumberland, which includes facilities offered by hotels, B and Bs and self-catering accommodation.
He said: “The potential is endless, and should have a much farther reach, especially with next year being the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing.
“Star gazing can be tremendous for the region.”