Chester Civic Trust Award
On Wednesday, Paul picked up an award from the Chester Civic Trust, recognising the work done by the Steering Committee of the Cheshire West Design Awards, in organising last year’s major award ceremony at Chester Town Hall.
The Cheshire West Design Awards celebrate and reward outstanding architecture, construction, and public projects across the Cheshire West and Chester borough. Held every five years, the scheme aims to improve local quality of life by encouraging high standards in new builds, conservation, and environmental sustainability.
Now in its 20th year, the Civic Trust awards were made at a recent ceremony at the headquarters of Chester Civic Trust at Bishop Lloyd’s Palace Watergate Street, Chester.
These Civic Trust awards are presented annually and with the help of members the Trust aims to:
- recognise progress and change over the past twelve months,
- encourage high standards in the built environment (urban and rural),
- recognise achievements that may not feature in a more formal award scheme, and
- recognise the work of local groups, individuals and firms alike.
Lovelock Mitchell have a long history with the Chester Civic Trust. Our former partner F. C. Saxon (when we were known as Lockwood Abercrombie and Saxon) was a highly prominent Chester architect who served as a founding member and the very first Chairman of the Chester Civic Trust when it was established at its inaugural meeting on 7th January 1960.
During 1959, Saxon and a group of concerned Cestrians held informal meetings regarding severe post-war modernisation schemes threatening Chester’s historic infrastructure—including proposals for the Inner Ring Road and the demolition of the 1862 Market Hall. Their efforts culminated in the formal launch of the Chester Civic Trust in early 1960 to lobby for high standards of conservation and architecture, a civic-minded mission that Saxon championed as its foundational chair.
