A £14.8 million 'discovery centre' project in Northumberland National Park has won an accolade at the 2015 Planning Awards.

Engineering consultants Cundall scooped the "Planning Permission of the Year" prize for 'The Sill' during the awards ceremony in London.

Cundall's Planning Team acted as planners for 'The Sill', which will become the UK's first dedicate Landscape Discovery Centre.

It will form a hub of learning, participation and research activities, opening Northumberland National Park up to a range of audiences.

Planning permission for the centre was granted in October 2014.

Features will include charity YHA Hostel accommodation, exhibition spaces, an activities programme, retail facilities and a local produce café along with a business hub.


Cundall were appointed by Northumberland National Park Authority to provide planning and lighting consultancy services in March 2013.

The Scheduled Ancient Monument Consent was granted and planning application approved. In addition, the consultancy carried out a lighting assessment, resulting in centre's site becoming the largest area of protected night sky in Europe.

'The Sill' is due to open in 2017.

Ian Cansfield, Director of Planning at Cundall, said: "This has been a fantastic project to be part of and we have relished the challenge of securing consent for this contemporary designed facility in a sensitive environment."

Tony Gates, Chief Executive of Northumberland National Park Authority, added: "We are delighted The Sill has been awarded Planning Permission of the Year at the prestigious Planning Awards.

"I think this achievement is a great testament to the hard work and dedication of both our own planning team and that of our excellent planning consultants, Cundall. The award is particularly pleasing as Northumberland National Park was in the situation of being both the developer and the regulator for this process."

(LM/MH)