Certificates of Excellence will be awarded by Malvern Civic Society for two very different buildings this year. A new, fairly small house, 366 Pickersleigh Road, built by Steve and Lee Bone, was praised for its pleasing design, its high standard of workmanship and its thoughtful eco-friendly and low -maintenance features.

Another certificate will be awarded to 'Copper Beeches', a fine Edwardian house in Albert Road South. Richard Southall, the owner since 2004, has brought the house back to life whilst preserving its authentic period detail and atmosphere. In this Conservation Year, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civic Amenities Act which created Conservation Areas, the Award Sub-Committee thought it was appropriate to give Richard a Special Award for Excellence in Conservation. 

There were four other nominations. One was the new shop, Rhubarb Home, opened by Nigel and Sara Morris on the corner of the Exchange, in Church Street. The Sub-Committee praised what had been done, particularly the preservation of 'Fishy' Davis's ceramic pictures inside, and considered that it had had an uplifting effect on that whole area of the town.

Three other projects saved important Malvern buildings from near dereliction. Local property developer Steve Hickman converted the old Town Club in Worcester Road into six modern apartments. They are different in size and character but all are energy-efficient and well sound-proofed and insulated. The elegant Grade ll listed façade of the building now looks very handsome. 

Another local property company, Crystalight Ltd., has rescued 'Ivydene' in Albert Road North, a fine old Victorian mansion, formerly occupied by the Girls' College. Great ingenuity was shown in planning 17 modern apartments, with very high-quality fittings and wonderful views. The building has regained its former grandeur.

Malvern Civic Society is putting a final call out for entries to its Civic Award which recognises buildings - old or new - which add 'something special to the built environment of the area'. 

John Dixon, who organises the Award for the Society explains: 

In May this year, Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) had refused a planning application submitted in 2015 to demolish the former Malvern Community Hospital in Lansdowne Crescent and replace it with a 50 bed care home. That decision fully supported the strong stand Malvern Civic Society has maintained for the retention of this heritage asset.. Clive Hooper, Chairman of Malvern Civic Society, commented "The Society has argued that if the proposals were implemented they would have an adverse impact upon the town's historic environment and would result in substantial harm to 

the Great Malvern Conservation Area. This applies equally to the new planning application recently submitted to MHDC. The building is in good order and not in a ruinous state and should be kept. The Society's Planning Sub-Committee discussed the new plans at its meeting on 28 September and will be writing formally to MHDC." Mr Hooper went on to say "Malvern Civic Society has always recognised the local importance of the old hospital building, and this is reflected by the building's submission by the Society to MHDC, together with other properties, for consideration for its Local Listing. We also recognise the value which MHDC has attached to preserving the building: it produced a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in 2006 outlining the desirability of keeping it." 

"The new planning application submitted by the developers, Montpellier Estates, notes that they had prepared a paper 'to prove that the existing hospital could not be viably converted to residential housing due to the physical and financial constraints imposed by the existing building'. Evidence submitted on this as part of the consultation process was flawed and completely failed to make the case. We understand that there are other developers keen to purchase the property in order to convert it into residential accommodation, but that they are currently locked out from making an offer to purchase it by the NHS trust through the agreement it has with Montpellier." 

"Mention is made in the current application of the MHDC's planning policy SWDP 6 on the Historic Environment: this requires that development proposals should conserve and enhance the significance of heritage assets including their setting, which includes conservation areas and undesignated heritage assets. However, no mention is made of the SPD in this context, or the extensive report from Historic England, both of which underline the desirability of retaining the building." 

Malvern Civic Society had previously campaigned for the old community hospital to be given a Grade II statutory listing. The former hospital was built between 1909-11 by William Henman FRIBA and was given to the people of Malvern by local benefactor C. W. Dyson Perrins; it has heritage connections with development of hospital architecture and interesting innovative technological features (such as the early use of reinforced concrete) and quality design and internal fittings. Historic England's criteria for assessing whether a building should be added to the national heritage list for England is that the building in question should be under serious threat or have national significance if built after 1840. As the former hospital was at risk of demolition, it fitted the criteria for assessment as under threat. The Secretary of State had concluded that the building was not nationally significant enough to have statutory listing, but that it was protected under local policy and was in the Conservation Area. However, the report accompanying the minister's decision, in noting the strong local architectural interest of the building, did mention 'its strong local presence, expressed in the scale and massing of its design, its quality features, and its local historic significance, which was recognised by its inclusion in the conservation area'. 

Clive Hooper, Chairman. 

Dudley Brook unveiling plaque commemorating site of medieval parish church of St Thomas and Spytalway (now Church Street)

After walking down from Belle Vue Island to Malvern Theatres behind Mike Fray, our Town Crier, our President, Dudley Brook, welcomed everyone to the Opening Ceremony, including Harriett Baldwin, our MP. Councillor Hannah Campbell, the Deputy Mayor, opened the proceedings and then Councillor John Raine, Chairman of Malvern Hills District Council, presented the prizes for the Malvern Civic Society’s Schools’ Literary Competition. 

The overall winner was Seb Roberts from The Elms, the Secondary Schools’ winner was Thomas Winters from the Chase and the Primary Schools’ winner was Elizabeth Jacob from Malvern Parish – congratulations to them all. This was followed by the unveiling of the Mulberry tree in Priory Park by Di Foster from Malvern, Australia.

Priory exhibitions: people watching 3d slideshow of 2016 MSA well dressings, (note the 3D glasses).

The Bands in the Park on Sunday was slightly damp but the stalwarts remained to listen to the excellent Cinderford Brass band, to eat cake from the WI stand and to take part in the raffles and tombola of the Guides and Rotary. The Malvern Beavers produced 12 entries for the Garden Competition. We awarded 2 prizes, one for the best decorated yoghurt pot and the second for the best flowers. The title had been a bunch of flowers for the Queen’s 90^th birthday. This was all due to the splendid efforts of their pack leader Heather Oldroyd whose Beavers gave a dull day a splash of colour.

The owners of Elmslie, Anna and Bernard Taylor

The Week gave us the chance to visit The Dell House in Malvern Wells, the house and garden including a Victorian summerhouse and some wonderful tree sculptures.  Elmslie, Avenue Road, which was presented with the Civic Society's 2016 Award a few days earlier, was the other house which drew people to appreciate its marvellous restoration and to see the slides of Bygone Malvern. 

There were some splendid talks, two of which were held in the Malvern College Lewis Science Theatre: Paula Byrne on her best seller 'Kick' about Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy; Ben Cowell, Director General of the Historic Houses Association about 'Saving Country Houses';

Rosamund Wallinger showing wonderful photos of her Gertrude Jekyll designed garden, which she has restored and has become an expert on Gertrude Jekyll’s life and art;

Robert Payne portrayed Francis Kilvert

Water Cure Re-enactment, the "descending douche", with Dr John Harcup as Dr Wilson, Ken Crump as Bath Attendant and David Armitage as Patient.

For over twenty years Malvern Civic Society has been making an annual Civic Award. We are always on the look-out for new or renovated buildings, completed during the previous year, which add something special to the built environment of the area. The award is only a small plaque but it is highly regarded by the winning owners, builders and developers. Last year's winner was the new Malvern Link railway station and we were hoping for nominations of similar high quality this year. We were not disappointed. 

There were six nominations - one newly built development, two renovations of large Victorian houses, and three more radical renovations which completely changed the character of their original buildings.

The new development is Nightingale Court in Jenny Lind Grove, Malvern Link. Roy Pendleton of Court Properties and his designer Steven Salisbury achieved the difficult feat of fitting two 3-bedroomed duplex units and two 2-bedroomed apartments into the ground plan of a small chapel which existed there before, without sacrificing space or convenience. The new building fits in well with the quiet, residential character of the area.

No 8 The Lees (off Thirlstane Road) is one of the Victorian houses which has been renovated. Tom Wood inherited this fine house, built in 1889, which, apart from a rear extension added in the 1920s, has survived almost unchanged. It has been a labour of love for Tom to manage a total renovation both inside and out using local expertise. Architect Marcus Cleaver, builders Jeremy Dean and Horizon 

Construction, stonemason James Robinson, carpenters Mark Davies and Steve Taine and metalworker D.A. Walton have all been involved. An elegant and spacious family home and garden have been brought back to life with much thoughtful and painstaking work.

The other Victorian house is Elmslie House in Avenue Road. This has had a significant history. It was designed and built in 1862 by the distinguished Malvern architect E.W. Elmslie, with ornamentation both inside and out by the Worcester sculptor William Forsyth. It went through several changes of ownership and name until it was bought in 2013 by Anna and Bernard Taylor. They have carried out a thorough and careful renovation of both the house 

and the garden, using local architect Steve Davies and a team of local craftsmen including Pegasus Joinery, Steve Allard the stonemason, the Swinbourne brothers, Morgan the blacksmith and the glazier Malcolm Wicherley. The house has now regained its original Victorian splendour but is also a delightful family home.

No 17 Imperial Road was a nondescript 1960s bungalow. Behind the façade the living area has now been more than doubled by owner Owen Law, assisted by local builders Simon Rowe and Jeremy Dean, creating a spacious, modern home.

The Razak Science Centre, named after a former pupil who is now prime minister of Malaysia, is a truly impressive addition to Malvern College. Two existing science buildings, one built in the 1930s and the other in the 1960s, have been completely renovated and modernised and connected together by a new component which contains a state-of-the-art lecture theatre. The architects were Squire and Brown and 

the work was carried out by Keir Construction. The overall impression is of space and light.

The apartment building called 'The Corner' has made a dramatic appearance at the junction of Christchurch and Court Roads. There was a dull three-storey structure here before. Now developer Ben Guthrie and Matt Banks of Glazzard Architects have transformed it by clever outside styling and radical internal planning. Bricklayers Brooke and Poynton, Walter Electrical and W.P. Plastering have created a striking, modernist building which improves the character of the whole area. 

It was difficult to compare these six very different structures but, in the end, the committee's unanimous decision was that the 2016 award should go to Elmslie House. This iconic Victorian mansion has been saved for posterity; the craftsmanship and attention to detail have been superb and, as the owners are keen to arrange a series of public events in the house, the whole community can enjoy what has been achieved. The winner's plaque will be presented to Anna and Bernard as part of Malvern's Civic Week events. (John Dixon, Chair of Civic Award Sub-Committee)

English Heritage has rated Great Malvern Station in the top ten stations in the country. The Group, which is part of Malvern Civic Society, is aiming to improve the station's appearance by restoring the clock tower, creating a copy of the original which was taken down in the 1950s. The estimated total cost of the project is in the region of £384,000 +VAT of which £100,000 has already been offered. 

Network Rail has undertaken a roof survey free of charge and London Midland has offered to manage the construction of the project.  Since the Civic Society formed its Friends of Malvern's Railway Group in November 2011, the Group has influenced the design of the redeveloped Malvern Link Station and persuaded Network Rail to repaint the footbridge at the Link Station to complement the new station buildings. At Great Malvern Station they have lobbied Network Rail to replace the damaged floral work to the ornate columns and carry out repairs to the canopy, now planned for 2016/17. The unique pedestrian passageway (known locally as 'The Worm'), linking Platform 2 with Malvern St. James School, has now been listed Grade II and Network Rail has been requested to carry out repairs to arrest any further decay. Support by sponsoring one or more elements of the construction is now being sought to help in enhancing this piece of Malvern's heritage. Please complete the sponsorship form below to help make Malvern an even better place in which to live and encourage visitors. 

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