Ruthin sport clubs first to install dark sky lights in Wales

The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape team have worked with Clwb Rygbi Rhuthun and Llanfwrog Community Centre to introduce sustainable lighting on their pitches, tennis courts, and golf driving range.

This initiative aims to reduce light pollution and improve the facilities for users and nature.

The new lighting system is part of a wider programme supported by the Welsh Government, designed to support nature, climate, and communities.

The lights are a collaborative project led by the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape team. (Image: Denbighshire County Council) The new lights are equipped with cowls to cut off stray light, ensuring all illumination is directed onto the pitches with no spill beyond the playing area.

This reduces ecological impact and energy wastage.

As a result, the Rugby Club has seen a 45 per cent reduction in energy consumption, while the Tennis Club's energy use has decreased by 61 per cent.

A light management system, controllable via a phone app, means only the courts or pitches in use need to be lit and can be dimmed for training sessions, saving even more energy.

The new LED lights have a slightly warmer colour temperature, at 2700 Kelvin, which is less harmful to wildlife than standard bluer/white LED lights.

Gwenno Jones, dark sky officer for the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, said: "It’s not been easy to come up with a solution but working with specialist dark sky lighting consultancy Dark Source and lighting company EcoClub we’ve managed to demonstrate that it’s possible to provide better quality, more effective lighting that is also more ecologically, environmentally and economically sustainable."

Councillor Alan James, lead member for local development and planning, said: "The new lighting across all these sports grounds will see a huge improvement for residents in this part of Ruthin with very little or no obtrusive light now spilling into the surround area or landscape.

"It's best practice for so many reasons and we hope that this standard of lighting can be replicated across Wales."