Top Peterborough attraction to appear on TV tonight after continuing success with major Commendation

Sacrewell Watermill was awarded a Commendation for the AABC Conservation category at the Civic Trust Awards 2017. From 247 applications, 45 national and international projects were rewarded with a Civic Trust Award or commendation.

It’s been an exciting few weeks for the team at Sacrewell as the mill project is also appearing on TV tonight, Thursday March 23 as part of the Channel 4 programme Great British Buildings: Restoration of the Year, presented by Kevin McCloud and Dr Anna Keay.

Jane Harrison, the Mill Project Officer, said “We were delighted that Sacrewell Watermill received a Commendation from the prestigious Civic Trust.

“It is testament to the entire design team, whose aim was to ensure that every decision was the best one for the building, which had previously been on the At Risk Register.

“The watermill is owned by the William Scott Abbott Trust (an educational charity) who provided a large cash injection, along with the £1.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are, as a team, immensely proud of the work that went in to saving a piece of our nation’s industrial heritage.”

Sacrewell Mill re-opened in July 2015 after the major restoration and conservation works had been completed. Cambridge architecture firm Purcell headed the project, which was managed by the Clarkson Alliance and work was carried out by Tinwell firm Messenger Construction.

The project has seen the historic fabric and machinery be retained where possible and repaired, with works carried out by trained craftsmen using local materials.

Sensitive technical solutions to alleviate inherent problems with structural failure and damp ingress and to improve energy usage and running costs have been applied. New access routes and building services have been thoughtfully integrated and poor quality 20th century buildings have been removed.

WSAT’s vision to engage more people in the heritage of the site through activity and interpretation and for the watermill buildings to become a focal point to learn, train and develop specialist skills has been realised.

The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. As the longest standing, independent, built environment awards scheme in Europe, during the last 57 years, more than 6500 projects have been rewarded and the scheme has continued in its objective to recognise projects that have made a positive contribution to the local communities they serve.

The Civic Trust Awards is one of the only remaining independent built environment awards schemes, not linked to any organisation, institution or publication and operates on a not-for-profit basis.