Bristol City Scoops Prestigious National Heritage Prize

For the second year running Bristol has been awarded a prestigious national heritage prize for restoration projects in the city.

The Landscape Institute’s 2010 Heritage and Conservation Award has been awarded to Arnos Vale Cemetery restoration project. This follows the same prize last year being awarded to Bristol’s Queen Square Enhancement Project.

The cemetery was officially re-opened in April this year following a £5m project to restore its historic grounds, monuments and buildings to transform the 45-acre site into a heritage, wildlife, education and visitor centre.

Welcoming the award, Lori Streich, chair of the charity now managing the site, the Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust (AVCT), said: “We are delighted with this recognition from the Landscape Institute.  Arnos Vale has been transformed from a state of neglect, to a place that respects its heritage, tradition and landscape, while offering a contemporary environment for remembrance - both for individuals and for the city as a whole.”

Bristol City Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Housing and Regeneration Anthony Negus added: “Winning this prestigious award two years running is real recognition of how important Bristol places heritage and conservation, and the sheer talent and commitment of people involved in these projects. The Arnos Vale Cemetery restoration is a deserved winner, and an excellent example of what can be achieved with such a historically sensitive site in an urban setting.”

The Landscape Institute (www.landscapeinstitute.org) is an educational charity and chartered body responsible for protecting, conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment for the benefit of the public. It champions well-designed and well-managed urban and rural landscape. The Institute’s accreditation and professional procedures ensure that the designers, managers and scientists who make up the landscape architecture profession work to the highest standards.