Archived press release

Date Published: 06/11/06

Outstanding residential developments in Aylesbury Vale will be recognised by the district council at their 13th annual Design Awards. The awards ceremony will be held at the Civic Centre in Aylesbury on 8 November, when residents and developers w...

Outstanding residential developments in Aylesbury Vale will be recognised by the district council at their 13th annual Design Awards.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Civic Centre in Aylesbury on 8 November, when residents and developers will join councillors and officers to celebrate the district’s architectural excellence.

AVDC runs the Design Award every year to highlight the best examples of good building design and to encourage higher standards of design and construction. The awards are open to residential and non-residential categories in alternate years – this year’s awards are for residential projects.

A judging panel made up of district councillors and built environment professionals from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, the Architecture Centre and the Royal Institute of British Architects visited nine shortlisted developments, eventually narrowing the field down to five award winners.

The judges looked at a range of projects including individual dwellings, housing developments, barn conversions and house extensions.

This year’s awards will be presented by the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Sue Polhill. The winners of the awards will each receive a certificate. The overall winner will also collect a special plaque.

Awards will be presented  to the following projects:
• Alan C Watson, Design and Project Services, received the Design Award Plaque for outstanding and exemplary design for the renovation and extension of Pear Tree Cottage in Tingewick. This thatched cottage in the conservation area has been delightfully renovated and extended to provide a home and studio for its owner.
• Derek Rogers Associates – highly commended for South Barn, Manor Farm, Chearsley. An exemplary conversion of a 17th century Grade II listed barn to a private home, with high standards of craftsmanship and energy conservation.
• Berkeley Homes (Oxford and Chiltern) Ltd – commended for the Observatory, Walton Street, Aylesbury. A distinctive development of 69 apartments close to the town centre.
• DGS Construction Ltd and Isis Builders – commended for building conservation for Wood End Cottage, Nash. An extensive renovation and extension of a Grade II listed cottage in the conservation area.
• Mr Benedict O’Halloran, MOH Properties Ltd – commended for the development of 12-18 Stratford Road, Buckingham. Four new flats, two houses and the restoration of an existing house on the edge of the Buckingham Conservation Area. This brownfield development has provided some much needed affordable housing in the town.

Councillor Carole Paternoster, Cabinet Member for Planned Development and a member of the judging panel, was impressed with the standard of entries for this year’s awards. “This year we received a record number of entries over a diverse range of categories, making it very difficult to choose an overall winner. All the judges were very impressed by the high standards of design and construction we saw during the judging of the awards. It was also very encouraging to see the number of sustainable construction techniques now being incorporated in residential developments in the Vale,” she said.

“The Design Awards give the council the opportunity to reward those developments where extra thought and care has been taken, which makes a significant difference to the finished product, and sets a high standard for future development,” she added.