Cheshire West Design Awards
Timeline
Cheshire West Design Awards
Awards Timeline
The inscription on a lead water pipe displayed in the Grosvenor museum in Chester dates it to 79AD and is the earliest evidence of Roman settlement in this area. The City Council decided, therefore, to celebrate the 1900th anniversary of the foundation of Chester in 1979. An awards scheme for conservation projects was established with winners presented with a circular plaque depicting the head of Vespasian, the Roman emperor in 79AD.
Due to the success of the scheme the Awards committee decided it should be repeated at five-yearly intervals.
The public domain is the theatre of an urban culture. It is where citizenship is enacted, it is the glue that can bind an urban society.
Timeline
A look back at the milestones that shaped our growth and brought us closer to where we are today.
Since the first award scheme was introduced in 1979, the scope of the scheme has continued to develop and evolve. ln addition to rewarding the best architectural projects completed in the previous five years, the publicity which the awards attract has helped to raise the profile of good architectural design and a broader interest in our traditional and contemporary built environment.
1979
Awards scheme for conservation projects
Winners:
Anchotite Cell - James Brotherhood
Stretton Mill Cornmill Museum - Cheshire County Council,
90/92 Lower Bridge Street - Three Kings Studio
1984
Awards scheme for conservation projects
Winners:
Godstall Lane
1987
Awards scheme for conservation projects
(now includes new build entries
Winners:
Chester District Library
1995
Awards scheme for architecture and conservation
Winners:
Chester Magistrates Court
Rufus Court, Chester
Tattenhall Hall
2000
Civic awards for design and conservation
Winners:
Bull's cottage, Tarvin - D.T. Doxat-Pratt
Chester scout HQ - Tweed Nuttall Warburton
Dixons Almshouses, Christleton
2005
Civic awards for design and conservation
Winners Residential (new)
Dee Hill's Court, Chester - Tweed Nuttall Warburton
8 Cambrian View, Chester
Winner Residential (conversion)
Burwardsley Chapel
Winner Public / Commercial (new)
Wimbold Trafford Hall
Winner Public / Commercial (conversion)
Eaton estate offices, Eccleston
2010
Civic awards for design and conservation
Winner Education (new)
All Saints CoE Primary School - Lovelock Mitchell Architects
Winner Residential (new & refurb)
16 Lache Lane, Chester - Andy Foster Architects
Winner Residential (new & refurb)
Leighton Hall Farm, Neston - Donald Insall Associates
Winner Residential / Commercial (new & refurb)
Gunnery Dev, Tarvin - Sandra Murray Associates
Winner Community build conservation
St Mary's church, Thornton-le-Moors - Tim Ratcliffe Associates
Winner Community build refurbishment
Chester Town Hall - Cheshire West and Chester Council
2015
Civic awards for design and conservation
Winner Commercial conversion and conservation
Chester Cathedral
Winner Public realm improvements
The Groves, Chester
Winner Commercial new build
Oddfellows, Chester
Winner Community conversion
Lion Salt Works, Northwich
Winner Commercial new build
Marks & Spencer, Cheshire Oaks
Winner Residential new build
Sandiway Bank, Hartford
2021
Civic awards for design and conservation
Winner Residential conservation
Handley Oak - Donald Insall Associates
Winner Residential (new)
Shot tower, Chester - DLA Architecture
Winner Community (new conversion)
Storyhouse - Bennetts Associates
Winner Community (new)
The Lookout, Pettypool - Walker Simpson Architects
Winner Commercial (conservation & refurb)
Burton Manor - Donald Insall Associates
Winner Public realm
Town Park, Winford - Cheshire West and Chester Council's Landscape Team
Winner New build sustainable
Delamere Forest Visitors Centre - Design Group Chester
2025
Cheshire West Design Awards
The Award for Residential Renovation and Conservation
Alms Houses - Designed for Grosvenor Hart Homes by Cassidy and Ashton
The Award for Residential New Build
The Knoll - Designed by Smith Young
The Award for Community New Build and Refurbishment
Theatre Porto, Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port - Bennetts Associates and AHR Architects Ltd
The Award for Community Project
Chester Cathedral, West End Reordering - Donald Insall Associates and Broadbent Studio
The Award for Commercial Conversion and New Build
The Square, Chester Zoo - Donald Insall Associates
The Award for Commercial New Build
Northgate Development
The Award for Commercial Refurbishment
The Old Post Office – Designed for Armstrong B2B by D2 Architects
The Award for Public Realm Regeneration
Town Hall Square, Chester - CWAC and local businesses
The Award for Public Realm Conservation & Restoration
Chester Rows - Donald Insall Associates and Cheshire West Conservation Team
The Award for Sustainable Development
Nature Recovery Corridor and Tree Planting at Chester Zoo - Chester Zoo
Order and arrangement, symmetry and definiteness, are the qualities that give value to architecture.