Out of the top drawer!
Top class entries - that was the unanimous verdict of the judges in this year's Garden City Heritage Awards, which recognised the house improvement talents of town residents.
Householders who entered this prestigious competition, organised by the Heritage Foundation, were congratulated for the excellent improvements they made to their properties during the qualifying period of Jan 1,2004 and June 30, 2005, at the awards ceremony in the Spirella Building, last Thursday.
The householders, both winners and highly commended and where appropriate the architects/contractors, all received commemorative plaques or certificates from Stuart Kenny, the Foundation's Director General.
The results were as follows:
Front Gardens category:
Winner, 210, Nevells Road (Mr & Mrs Lochhead); Highly Commended; 195, Icknield Way, (Mr & Mrs Earle and contractor David Staddon).
Other Alterations category:
Winner, 37, Meadow Way, (Mr & Mrs Worbey and joiners S McCann; Highly commended, 17, 19 and 21 Ridge Avenue, (Howard Cottage Housing Association and George Barnsfield, HD Windows).
Extensions category:
Winner, 148, Wilbury Road, (Mr & Mrs Saunders and architect Mr Crockart); Highly commended, 101, Pixmore Way, (Mr & Mrs Murnieks) and architect Robert Downing of Pentangle Design Group.
The overall winner of the three categories chosen by the judges was Mr & Mrs Saunders and architect Mr Crockart.
In his address, Mr Kenny praised the high quality of entries and spoke of the importance of maintaining a high quality environment in the Garden City. Paul Palmer, a Heritage Foundation Board member and Chairman of the Judges panel, also made a congratulatory speech and announced the results.
The judges, from the Foundation's Architectural Heritage Advisory Group, were Mr Palmer, Mr Kenny, Liz Marten, Principal Conservation Officer at the District Council, Dr Mervyn Miller, local historian and author of 'Letchworth, The First Garden City' , Robert Lancaster, Curator of the First Garden City Heritage Museum and Tracy Harvey, Head of Estate Management at the Heritage Foundation.