Six awards were presented this year and two went to affordable local housing schemes in the Forest of Dean. The first, Kings Lodge in Cinderford, is a development of 92 houses on a brownfield site, originally an abattoir. 32 of the houses are affordable rent properties and five in shared ownership. This development was an excellent example of partnership between the Forest of Dean District Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, Two Rivers Housing and Kier Partnership Homes.
In St Briavels, an award was given to Whittington Close, also in the Forest of Dean. Here nine affordable homes have been built by another partnership between the District Council, the Guinness Partnership, Gloucestershire Rural Housing Partnership and St Briavels Parish Council. “Without the patience and dedication of the people involved with these partnerships, this kind of housing would not be appearing in our County,” points out Professor Patricia Broadfoot. “It is so important that we show our support for this kind of collaboration at a time when our countryside is beleaguered by poor development”.
This is the 11th year CPRE Gloucestershire have presented their Rural Excellence Awards. Two awards were given to projects focusing on the heritage of the Cotswolds. These were Greystones Farm Discovery Centre in Bourton-on-the-Water and Hayles Abbey Halt. The Halt on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway was recreated thanks to the efforts and many man hours of local volunteers.
Tewkesbury Nature Reserve received an award as an excellent example of a community working together to create a volunteer-led project for the benefit of residents in the area, as well as offering educational opportunities. The Raymond Fenton Centre in South Cerney also received an award as a well designed, energy efficient building, well used by the local community for a variety of pursuits.
