Architectural Awards

We regularly run architectural awards, recognising excellence in build and renovation design.

---

Every few years, Hertford Civic Society reviews the major new buildings or renovations in Hertford. The winning site gets a plaque for public display. Other high-quality developments receive certificates of commendation. For instance, the Shire Hall renovation was awarded a plaque in 1991 for works which took the building back to the kind of appearance originally envisaged by the Adam brothers in the eighteenth century.

The 2024 HCS Awards Announced

Led by independent outside expert Martin Hamilton (Director of Leeds Civic Trust and also, at national level, of Civic Voice), the Panel of members of Hertford Civic Society reviewed the main new/re-animated buildings in Hertford since 2020.

After assessing an initial longlist of 16 developments, the panel concluded the process by assessing the final seven buildings on the shortlist.

Lea Wharf town centre commercial/residential development. 98 residential units. SG14 1BN

 

Blakemore Manor housing estate (from District Plan 2018). 254 units. SG14 2FZ

Granary and Chapel housing development, Tamworth Road. 49 units. SG13 7DN

BEAM/Hertford Theatre, major redevelopment. SG14 1PS

Hartham Leisure Centre, major redevelopment. SG14 1QR

Scott House, Victorian villa expanded as 14 apartments, Hagsdell Road. SG13 8WA

Margaux’s, renovated shop/shopfront & accommodation above, 7 Market Street. SG14 1BD

Main Conclusions

The Panel was hugely impressed by the visual quality of the majority of the shortlisted buildings. All seven shortlisted sites had some strong points. It was no easy task to select any outright winner. Ultimately, and unusually, two hugely complex sites emerged as joint winners. These were BEAM: the thoughtfully expanded theatre which now also includes cinema and social space as well as Lea Wharf, incorporating residential development, retail, hospitality, a medical centre for the NHS, a refurbished car park and bus station. In their design and details, these two places had a very positive impact on Hertford, both visually and doubtless for their users.
Importantly, Lea Wharf has opened up a ‘lost’ riverside area of great charm. BEAM looks well placed to do something similar – it will enhance access to Hertford Castle, its gardens and streams.
 
The Panel also strongly acknowledged the attractiveness of the major expansion of Hartham Leisure Centre. The interesting design of the new extension actually helped to improve the appearance of the pre-existing part alongside it (over the swimming pool). And the new part in particular related well with Hartham Common. In short, the panel felt that the Leisure Centre very strongly deserved a commendation.

The Panel also very much liked two of the other sites. The larger of these was Scott House, where the renovation of a dilapidated Victorian villa and its gracious enlargement into 14 apartments represented a considerable achievement, sympathetically blending both older and contemporary design features. The smaller-scale achievement that appealed to the Panel was Margaux’s – simply for the
renovation of quite an intimate late Victorian shop front, with delightful ornate metalwork. The Panel concluded that both Scott House and Margaux’s deserved commendations.
 
The Panel felt that the other two housing developments each had some very positive features.  Blakemore Manor managed to give its 250+ houses a reasonably spacious setting – and without seeming to allow parked cars to be over-obtrusive. It was good that there was a bus stop actually inside the development, with a regular daytime service to the centre of Hertford six days a week. The sculpture of a an osprey was appealing, as was the central green space, with its hint of a village green.

The Granary and Chapel housing development in Tamworth Road also had some good aspects: in particular, the terrace at the rear of the site, parallel with the railway line, was an interesting statement. Also, trouble had been taken to make sure that the houses along the street front fitted well with their neighbours further along Tamworth Road.

Broader Considerations

The Awards process is intended not only to identify winners but also to highlight issues worth further thought. Three such issues are worth mentioning, with an eye to creating enhanced developments in the future:
While sites benefit enormously from trees, there is a need for better aftercare following initial planting. Many of the sites had dead trees, not necessarily even removed upon their decease, including Blakemore Manor (for instance, by the pond). Among the broader group of longlisted sites, Aldi had a conspicuous problem. There is supposed to be a whole row of trees alongside the A414, nearly all of which have died, been removed, and not replaced.

While Blakemore Manor’s bus stop has been mentioned above, as a positive example of provision for alternatives to car use, not all the sites can claim this kind of success. Both Limsi Grove and The Stiles are quite large housing developments some distance from their nearest bus stop and also lacking any specific provision to encourage walking and cycling. Lea Wharf of course by it's very location does tend to foster a car-free lifestyle on the part of many of its residents and also benefits from the on-site bus station and likewise from a nearby train station.

The 2020 HCS Award

Winner: Houses and Flats at the Ridgeway, Sele Farm

Commendations:  

Ware Park - Refurbishment of Mill House & additional new houses

Media House, Ware Road – Conversion into apartments

Great Northern Works, Hartham Lane - Development of business units 

Tudor Way, Hutton Close, Sele Farm & Welwyn Road - Houses and flat developments 

In 2020, the main award went to a substantial scheme of social housing commissioned by Network Homes, the Ridgeway development, in the Sele area of Hertford.

2020 HCS Awards Winner: Houses and Flats at the Ridgeway, Sele Farm

The main focus of these awards is on how key buildings have changed the town visually, identifying the success stories. The awards process can also be used to highlight sustainable practice, or to expose serious failings of design or construction.

The whole process is carried out with great care, under the guidance of an independent expert, assisted by a panel of Hertford people. Additionally, Hertford Civic Society asks its members for their views. 

While it is difficult for any assessment to cover all aspects of building work, Hertford Civic Society’s awards process is the one and only way in which developments in the town are publicly and systematically reviewed, on a reasonably regular basis.