GARDEN DESIGN
PROTECTING CUMBRIA ’ S
DARK SKIES
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN THORN LIGHTING AND CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL
Vulcan Park , Workington - Thorn Lighting
Cumbria , located in the north west of England and bordering Scotland , is a county known globally for its spectacular Lakes . The Lake District – now a UNESCO World Heritage Site – attracts millions of tourists each year . But Cumbria is also home to many rural villages , seaside communities and bustling towns . And what these places all share is the desire to protect their dark skies .
Cumbria County Council ’ s lighting team have worked hard to achieve this over many years , forming strong relationships with organisations such as Friends of the Lake District . For decades , Cumbria County Council have also worked with manufacturer Thorn Lighting to provide solutions and luminaires across the county , including road and street lighting , urban lighting for parks and architectural lighting for landmarks and architectural buildings .
But most recently , Cumbria County Council has teamed up with Thorn Lighting to install innovative technologies and solutions that reduce light pollution and help to protect the nocturnal environment .
Lining the pavement of the historic Cliff Terrace in Kendal , restored cast
Cliff Terrace , Kendal - Thorn Lighting
iron columns have been fitted with Thorn ’ s EP145 post-top lanterns providing an energy efficient solution . This change has improved the quality of lighting for residents in the vicinity .
As part of a pilot project which is now being rolled out further , Cumbria County Council have also installed Plurio post top luminaires equipped with NightTune technology . NightTune is a system which automatically adjusts the level of light emitted by a luminaire , and its colour temperature , to suit the exact time of night and level of traffic . There are a multitude of benefits for using this technology , such as the warmer colour temperatures being less harmful to wildlife , and minimised light spill and reduced sky glow .
Plurio luminaires with NightTune have been installed in a small residential cul-de-sac in Glenridding , as well as a popular park in the heart of Workington . Their installation in Castle Park in Whitehaven was supported by funding from the Home Office ’ s Safer Streets initiative , and the new lighting has created a more welcoming environment in the hours of darkness .
Ian Harker , Cumbria County Council ’ s Lighting Manager said , “ Cumbria has some of the darkest skies in Great Britain , and we are custodians of both the night sky and the world class environment here . So , we realise that in the work we do , we need to be careful and mindful that we don ’ t have a negative impact . We have a strong relationship with Friends of the Lake District , and after discussions with the team at Thorn Lighting were confident that these innovative technologies and solutions were fitting for our county . We ’ ve had a lot of positive feedback from residents , including reports of returning nocturnal wildlife , including larger bats feeding in Kendal ’ s Cliff Terrace .”
To protect dark skies , Thorn is also collaborating with the International Dark-Sky Association ( IDA ), to make sure that inherent in Thorn ’ s brand DNA are all the attributes that need to be followed to meet the regulations to limit light pollution , in the form of light spill , sky glow and light trespass .
Thorn ’ s Head of Application for Urban Life & Architectural , Eliot Horsman said , “ We approach dark sky sensitive solutions not just from a post-top luminaire point of view , but also from wider luminaire families , appropriate for building surrounds as well .”
To find out more about this project in Cumbria , watch the video here : https :// youtu . be / Vbgdytscg7A
For more information on our lighting solutions for outdoor spaces , visit https :// www . thornlighting . com / en / products / outdoor-lighting
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