Wakefield Civic Society Design Awards 2025 announced

Wakefield Civic Society announced prestigious Design Awards at their Annual General Meeting held at Wakefield Town Hall on Thursday evening, 10th April.

Although the number of nominations received for Wakefield Civic Society’s Annual Design Awards was somewhat lower than in recent years, there were, nonetheless, some interesting projects showing the range and breadth of development taking place in and around the city.

Photo courtesy of Cadvis3 Architectural Design

In the new build category, two projects were recognised with awards. A private house at Station Lane, Walton, developed by Steven Mungofa to a design by Paul Ibberson of Cadvis3d Architectural Design, won one of two awards. The judging panel liked the way the new property made good use of a small corner plot but, as importantly, the way in which the building’s façade had been enlivened with a differentiating choice of materials.

Photo courtesy of City & Provincial Properties

The second Design Award in the new build category was awarded to City and Provincial Properties for their new Gradient Mill building at Tileyard North designed by Hawkins Brown Architects. This building replaces an older one that was beyond economic repair and forms part of the redevelopment of the Rutland Mills complex. Over five floors, it provides a modern interpretation of a traditional mill building in terms of layout, design and massing. It has been very neatly executed and provides ideal facilities over five floors for businesses, including hospitality venues, and creative industries adjacent to Wakefield’s burgeoning waterfront.

In the refurbishment category, there were two commendations and two awards.

The first of the commendations went to Wakefield Grammar School Foundation for their refurbishment of the Caleb Crowther Almshouses on George Street (pictured left). Part of the refurbishment work had been to replace the windows and frames. That it was hard to spot the work had been carried out when comparing before and after photographs showed that care had been taken in the detail: it would have been so easy to spoil the aesthetic appeal of the building by choosing inappropriate replacements.

The second commendation was presented to Rushbond for their refurbishment of the Camellia House in the grounds of Bretton Hall (see photo right). Originally built in 1817, the Camellia House had been sympathetically restored to bring it back to its former grandeur.

The awards in this category went to Yorkshire Dental Suite and Wakefield Exchange.

Yorkshire Dental Suite had taken over the former Alfred Moodies public house at 12 Westgate, Wakefield and converted it to a modern dental surgery. Again, the refurbishment had been done sympathetically giving the Westgate façade a lift while retaining the look of the original building. The design was by Benchmark Designs.

Wakefield Council received the award for the conversion of the former market hall into a new events space for the city centre, Wakefield Exchange. With design by Arcadis, the building had been adapted to include food and beverage stalls and a new mezzanine level with conference rooms. In addition, and to make the events space work for a variety of different events and activities, the roof had been screened and acoustic tiles introduced to create a space where both light and sound can be controlled.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Wakefield Civic Society president Kevin Trickett said “Each year, the Society invites nominations from members and the general public as well as from developers and property owners. While the overall number of nominations had dropped when compared to previous years, there were still enough nominations for the judges to have quite a lively debate!

“A number of shop fronts and cafés, bars and restaurants had also been put forward. While these were considered, and some of them did gain the judges’ appreciation and made a positive contribution to the street scene, it was felt that they did not quite meet the high standard of design that the judges hoped to see.”

The awards and commendations were handed over to the recipients by the Mayor of Wakefield, Councillor Darren Byford, on behalf of the Society. Speaking at the conclusion of the event, the Mayor congratulated the recipients and also praised the work of the Society which had just celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Wakefield Civic Society 2023 Design and Environment Awards Announced

At the Society’s Annual General Meeting held on Thursday, 20th April, the following Design and Environment Awards were announced.

Design Awards

Photo of Heathland View House courtesy of Neil Bowen Architects

In the new-build category, a commendation was given for Heathland View House, a newly built house at Warmfield which has been built into the landscape so that it is almost invisible from the road. The architect was Neil Bowen Architects.

Photo of CAPA College – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

An award was presented to CAPA College for their new purpose-built premises on Mulberry Way. The architects were Race Cottam Associates. Modern and amply suited to its purpose, the building completes the Merchant Gate development opposite Westgate Station.

Photo of The Hepworth Wakefield Garden – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

A second award was presented for The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. The judges liked the way that the garden adapted the space between the Hepworth gallery and the recently opened former mill building refurbishment at Tileyard North. The garden created an area of beauty and tranquillity close to the city centre that residents and visitors to the gallery could enjoy.

Photo of 115a Northgate – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

A final award in the new-build category was presented for a new house at 115a Northgate, designed by Architecture 1B. The house occupies a prominent corner plot on the corner of Wentworth Terrace and Northgate and, although of very modern design, the judges were impressed by how the house fitted into a relatively small corner plot while being respectful of the properties around it.

Photo of the Manor House courtesy of PARKdesigned

Moving to the refurbishment category, the judges gave a commendation to the refurbishment of a former Manygates Hospital building, now known as the Manor House, and repurposed as flats as part of a larger residential development known as Woodlands Village. This had been a major refurbishment project of a building that had fallen into a state of dereliction over the years. The lead architects were ParkedDesign.

Photo of 22 Silver Street – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

A commendation was also given to the refurbishment of 22 Silver Street, which includes a newsagent and also the offices of First Choice Recruitment. The property had been refurbished and given a new shop front as part of the Westgate Heritage Action Zone project.

Photos of Thompson’s Yard, Westgate (top) and Woolpacks Yard, Westgate – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

The Heritage Action Zone project was also the subject of a further commendation, awarded to Wakefield Council for the public realm improvements carried out by the Council as part of the project, particularly for the work to improve the appearances of the entrances to Woolpacks Yard, Thompsons Yard and Carter Street.

Photo of Castle Lodge – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

A design award was given to Castle Lodge at Castle Road in Sandal. This former nursing home had been refurbished and extended to create new apartments. The judges liked how a house of traditional design had been sympathetically extended with two new wings to create additional apartments within a landscaped setting. The design was by PRA Architects.

Photo of Haircube Bread Street – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

In the best shop front category, although no awards were given, two commendations were given. The first went to business owner Louise Mould for her hair salon at Bread Street while the second was presented to First Choice Recruitment for the new frontage on their premises at 22 Silver Street.

Photo of the new shop front at 22 Silver Street – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society
Photo of Icmeler Restaurant, Northgate – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society

In the best public house, café/bar or restaurant frontage category, one commendation and one award were presented. The commendation went to Gazi Meydan for the design of his restaurant frontage at 56 Northgate while the award was given to Icon, a bar in the Westgate Heritage Action Zone. The award was for the refurbished frontage, work carried out under the project, as part of a larger project, still underway, to refurbish the former Woolpacks property that extends backwards from Westgate up Woolpacks Yard. The architects for the project are Seven Architecture.

Photo of Icon, Westgate – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society
Photo of the interior of an apartment at the Manor House – Courtesy of PARKdesigned

Finally, in the best residential category a further commendation was awarded for the Manor House at Woodlands Village while Castle Lodge secured its second design award of the evening.

Photo of Castle Lodge – Kevin Trickett for Wakefield Civic Society
Representatives from the Friends of Outwood Park being presented with their award
by the Mayor of Wakefield, Councillor David Jones.

Moving on to the Environment Awards, two award were given. The first went to the Friends of Outwood Park for their planting scheme at the park while the second went to the Wrenthopre Environmental Society (known as WRENS) for their work to ‘spruce up’ the village. Unlike the Design Awards, where recipients were presented with certificates and plaques, winners of the Environment Awards were presented with certificates and cheques for £100.

Ian Carthew of WRENS is presented with the award by Mayor of Wakefield, Councillor David Jones
– Photo by Ben Davison for Wakefield Civic Society

The awards were introduced by David Dinmore MBE DL who, as a Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, spoke of the King’s interest in architecture – something which he had long taken an interest in as Prince Charles. Wakefield Civic Society President Kevin Trickett MBE described the awards and the judges’ decisions while the successful recipients received their awards and commendations from the Mayor of Wakefield, Councillor David Jones.

Photo of (left to right) David Dinmore MBE DL, Kevin Trickett MBE, The Mayor of Wakefield Councillor David Jones and the Mayoress Mrs Annette Jones courtesy of the Mayor.

The judging panel members, all members of Wakefield Civic Society, were:

  • Angie de Courcy Bower
  • Roger Brown
  • Barry Goodchild
  • Elizabeth Motley
  • John Ramsden
  • Graham Roberts

Speaking at the AGM, Civic Society President congratulated all the nominees and prize winners. He said that the Society existed in large part to promote an interest in architecture, design and town planning and the awards were just one way of drawing attention to schemes that added to the special character of the city. “All too often, people seem prepared to criticise the city centre”, he said, “but for anyone prepared to look, there is a lot of work being undertaken by the Council, developers and business owners to make real improvements to the city and this is in the interests of everyone, whether they are residents, business owners or visitors to the city”.

Wakefield Civic Society Environment Awards 2022 Announced

Wakefield Civic Society has announced the winners of their 2022 Environment Awards.

Speaking at the Society’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday evening, 28th April, which was held via video link, Wakefield Civic Society president Kevin Trickett said that the judging panel had decided to make four awards.

The awards went to two community groups, to a local school and to an individual who has done much to inspire and lead on tree planting projects in the area.

The awards were presented as follows:

1. Roger Parkinson BEM – for his leadership in the Thornes Woodland Creation Project – a project to plant trees at Thornes Common, one of a number of sites identified by Wakefield Council for tree planting as part of the contribution to the creation of the White Rose and Northern Forests. Working with over 250 volunteers from local businesses, schools, environmental organisations and community groups, Roger has led the project to plant and much some 10,000 trees since December 2021.

Thornes Woodland after the planting was completed

2. Open Country for their Wild About Wakefield Project – an initiative to help people with disabilities to access the countryside, to learn about nature and heritage and take part in physical activities, which in turn helps biodiversity within local green spaces. The project, which is based at Thornes Park, grows and plants out wild flowers, constructs bird boxes and promotes environmental awareness within the community. Volunteers have also provided opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and autism to benefit from weekly tandem cycling rides, weekend wheelchair outings and an adventure club. The project had also contributed to the development of 500m of new accessible footpath at Coxley Woods, near Horbury Bridge.

Volunteers and community members at Open Country

3. The Thornes Millennium Green Trust – for their management of a community garden, the Thornes Millennium Green, on Denby Dale Road. The garden was first created in 1997/8 in preparation for the Millennium and has been maintained ever since. Over the last year, the small team of gardeners have introduced more planting to support pollinators, tending shrubbery that is beneficial to birds and created a ‘bug hotel’.

Thornes Millennium Green – Big Hotel left and planting centre and right

4. Wakefield Methodist Junior and Infant School for their ‘tree awareness campaign’. For the last twelve years, the school has engaged with tree projects around Wakefield. This has involved planting trees and taking part in regional national and international tree campaigns. They have demonstrated how a tree nursery can be set up in a school and have been keen supporters of the community nursery in Thornes Park. The project, which raises awareness of the benefits of tree planting, involves the school’s leadership and teaching staff as well as pupils at the school.

Members of Wakefield Methodist J&I School

Each award winner was presented with a certificate and will receive a cash prize of £100 from the Society.

Mr Trickett congratulated all award winners adding that environmental concerns are increasingly being discussed by politicians, business and community leaders. While it is important that everyone does their bit to improve the environment, community projects such as these show what can be done, and more importantly, what is being done locally by ordinary people to care for the places they love.

Mr Trickett added that the Society hoped to make the Environment Awards and annual event and encouraged others to submit entries when the call goes out towards the end of the year for the 2023 awards.

Any enquiries regarding these awards should be directed to the Society by email at info@wakefieldcivicsociety.org.uk