Durham Castle and Cathedral has been given a makeover and is now illuminated by LED lighting, following a £600,000 project.
The county council paid for the lights, which illuminate the iconic buildings that together form Durham's World Heritage Site, to be replaced for the first time since the 1970s.
There are now 240 LED lights in place, which the council is hoping will help save the energy consumption by as much as 80 per cent.
Council chairman Linda Marshall officially switched on the lights at a celebratory event last night (February 20th). The launch also included a special concert in cathedral.
Bob Young, member of the council's cabinet for strategic environment, told the Northern Echo that the two buildings are the "jewels in the crown" of the skyline in Durham and the successful lighting project will help them shine together.
Canon Rosalind Brown, chair of the Durham World Heritage Site committee, commented: "Seeing Durham Cathedral and Castle by night is one of the unforgettable experiences of being in the north-east.
"The great thing about the new lighting scheme is that it picks out the architectural detailing of these two magnificent buildings, presenting our Unesco World Heritage Site at its best, while being much more energy efficient than the previous floodlighting."
Two years ago the council stated that the project would cost around £430,000. However, corporate director of neighbourhood services at the council Terry Collins said the design and ecological work meant the bill was higher.
A large number of councils up and down the country have looked at installing LED lights to illuminate their iconic landmarks at night.
Indeed, Malvern Town Council recently voted to have the energy efficient lighting illuminate the area's buzzards, while Blackpool unveiled hundreds of LEDs on its Tower earlier this month.
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