The Sill Discovery Centre

The £14.8m project was granted planning permission in October 2014 and opened in July 2017. The Sill project is the UK’s first dedicated Landscape Discovery Centre. It is a hub for the local community and economy, hosting some 30,000 learning, participation and research activities throughout the year. This makes the centre a leading heritage education facility for landscape, conservation, countryside management, and leisure and tourism skills.

Given the sensitive environment in which the project sits – a UNESCO World Heritage Site featuring the Hadrian’s Wall corridor – a careful approach was needed to develop the right planning strategy, extensive public engagement and high levels of detail within the planning and EIA submission. Given its location within a Dark Sky Park, the lighting design work focused on meeting the requirements of the International Dark Sky Association. Several of these criteria required a reduction in obtrusive light, i.e., sky glow and a reduction in the visibility of the building at night.

Ian Cansfield, Director of Planning, commented, "This has been a fantastic project to be part of and we have relished the challenge of securing consent for this contemporary facility in a sensitive environment. Not only is this close to Hadrian’s Wall (part of the ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site’), part of the site is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and there are strict National Park planning rules to comply with."