KEEN stargazers in the North Tyne are hoping to expand the Stonehaugh stargazing site to attract more visitors.
Although some may not know it, residents in the North Tyne are privileged to be living under the pristine skies of an International Dark Skies Park deemed to be one of the best in the world.
In a bid to fulfill the stargazing potential, plans to extend the Stonehaugh pavilion with an additional shelter and telescope site have been submitted to the county council.
The proposal from Wark Parish Council states the development would be built next to the current stargazing site.
The existing pavilion was built in 2014 as the central focus of Stonehaugh’s Dark Sky Discovery Site after students at Newcastle University’s School of Architecture worked with Kielder Art and Architecture and the Stonehaugh village community to design the facility.
And the latest proposal looks to make better use of the existing facility, located at the Warksburn picnic area, by expanding its astronomy events to offer further opportunities to local residents and tourists. Daytime and evening astro-photography courses are planned to operate alongside presentations from local astronomer Liam Reid.
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