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2025 Awards
On Monday 20th October, CPRE Gloucestershire hosted its annual Awards Ceremony at Elmore Court, celebrating seven exceptional projects that have made a lasting difference to Gloucestershireās countryside, environment, and communities.
Our 2025 Awarded Projects:
- Brimscombe Mill
- Isbourne Arts, Winchcombe
- Painswick Beacon Conservation Group
- Sapperton Wilder
- The Sensory Garden at Stratford Park
- The Sunground, Avening
- Woodmancote Community Space and Playpark
Projects are Awarded alphabetically.
Discover more about each of this yearās Awarded Projects and the reasons for their recognition below.
Brimscombe Mill
Awarded for: The sympathetic restoration of a traditional mill and associated buildings through a blend of professional and volunteer effort, bringing them back into productive use as a thriving hub of social enterprises.
About the project
The renovation of Brimscombe Mill 2021-2024 (Phase 1):
In September 2021 the Grace Network, consisting of associated social enterprises (The Long Table, Kids Stuff, Bike Drop, Home Remedy) and over fifty staff, took on the lease of Brimscombe Mill as their new home. At the time it was an overgrown site that had been derelict for twenty plus years with collapsed roofs, crumbing walls and dumped rubbish.
Over the coming months a committed band of skilled professionals and volunteers from across Stroud was formed. Weekend volunteer work parties slowly cleared the site while professional builders began to repair the failing timber roof trusses and other structural features. Within 2 months one thousand square metres of roof and one hundred and fifty metres of broken iron guttering were repaired. By the end of October the social enterprises began developing their own spaces with workshops, a kitchen and retail areas and the thriving community space that is visible today began to take shape. Renovations continued over the next 3 years as the social enterprises grew and thrived, with all efforts focused on local volunteers working with and alongside professionals. The overall cost of the restoration was Ā£160,000 and involved thousands of volunteer hours by over 60 people.
The restoration has attracted the interest of local conservators such as Stroud Council conservation officers who have been impressed by the simplicity and light touch nature of the approach. It is seen as an exemplar conservation project because it has completed the minimal work necessary to bring the site back into productive use, working with the buildings rather than against them. For example, the recent conservation of wrought iron windows involved volunteers learning new skills from a professional glazier who taught them how to cut and glaze each of the four hundred and fifty unique panes.
Isbourne Arts, Winchcombe
Awarded for: A well-considered scheme that benefits and enhances the provision of arts and community activities in Winchcombe, whilst maintaining the heritage of its base, the former Methodist Church.
About the project
In late 2022 Winchcombeās former Methodist Church was put on the open market for sale. This ambitious project has seen the church registered as an asset of community value, the setting up of a charity ā Winchcombe Arts and Community Hub – and successful major fund-raising to purchase the church and convert it in to an arts and community venue. The conversion was substantially complete in August 2024 when Isbourne Arts opened its doors for the first time. Further improvements have been made during 2025.
The interior of the building has two levels. The ground floor now contains a large performance space able to accommodate 150 people seated and 200 standing. There is also a small gallery, box office, bar and toilets together with a green room for performers. Downstairs is a studio suitable for workshops, meetings, youth activities and more, together with a kitchen and toilets. There is independent access to the downstairs level.
It is very pleasing to see the great care which has gone into the conversion, retaining and restoring original features from the church as much as possible including the stained-glass windows and most of the pews, alongside plumbing and heating upgrades, secondary glazing to improve heat retention and reduce noise, and improved access for the disabled.
The programme so far has seen a mix of live music, professional theatre, amateur dramatics, artisan markets and community events, largely delivered by 30 committed volunteers.
A ten-year business plan is in place for the venue to ensure its continued viability and a supportersā group is to be set up. For Winchcombe, Isbourne Arts is a great addition to the town and surrounding areas, benefitting the community in many ways.
Painswick Beacon Conservation Group
Awarded for: Instigating and continuing conservation management of Painswick Beacon – protecting and promoting its rich biodiversity by actively engaging local people and the wider community and securing support and recognition from national agencies.
About the project
Painswick Beacon is a 60 hectare hilltop site on the Cotswold edge in the Cotswolds National Landscape and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is a complex site to manage for biodiversity: part of the site is a golf course; it also encompasses a major heritage site in the form of an Iron Age hill fort; it includes a significant industrial stonemason works; it is crossed by two long distance footpaths; and as a popular regional beauty spot with views across the Severn plain to the Malverns, it attracts thousands of visitors and walkers every year.
Over the last ten years the Painswick Beacon Conservation Group (PBCG) has undertaken extensive conservation and management of this SSSI which features both unimproved calcareous grassland scrub and woodland, the site of several key species such as Musk orchids, Rugged Oil beetles, Duke of Burgundy butterflies and Juniper bushes.
Averaging 800 hours of volunteer work a year on the site the PBCG has raised funds to undertake projects such as scrub clearance, maintenance of footpaths, and management of compacted ground to improve drainage and aeration. Grazing cattle have been introduced on site with a system of electronic collars using a virtual fence system to ensure the best management of the grassland without the visual intrusion of physical fences. information boards have been installed at entry points to the common.
As a result of this work the siteās important biodiversity has been sustained and in 2024 the site was selected for the reintroduction of the Large Blue butterfly and that project continues.
In 2024 an ecologist was hired to train 15-20 volunteers in identification and methodology to begin regular surveying of the vegetation as a means of tracking improvements, appropriate vegetation for butterfly conservation and adaptation to climate change. In addition, the Group leader undertakes outreach and education to help the local community recognise the importance of the site with a monthly column in the Parish magazine, the Painswick Beacon, and talks to local community groups. Speakers on themes relevant to conservation are invited to speak at the annual general meeting.
To achieve these important outcomes PBCG has collaborated with stakeholders including Natural England, the Painswick Golf Club, English Heritage, the site owner and the Parish Council. It is now under contract to Natural England to maintain the site, thus providing a small income stream to fund work alongside the volunteer effort.
Sapperton Wilder
Awarded for: For both the inspired and practical implementation of regenerative farming and nature recovery, that maximises returns for the natural environment, maintains food production and benefits the whole community.
About the project
Post-war intensification of agricultural practices, particularly in areas with low soil fertility, has led to an increased reliance on pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers to produce food and be economically profitable. This can impact negatively on soil health leading to decreased crop yields and reduced biodiversity.
Sapperton Wilder was founded by Dr Johnathan Milner who was inspired to acquire land which could contribute to finding practical solutions to this problem. It is a highly ambitious experimental land restoration project to trial and demonstrate how improving biodiversity on low grade agriculture land in the Cotswolds can lead to both economic and community benefits. The specific term for this initiative is āregenerative agricultureā.
The land was formerly part of the Bathurst Estate and was purchased in 2021. It had been arable land for well over 20 years, but farming had become increasingly unsustainable as the soils there are very poor ā entirely Cotswold Brash with virtually no topsoil.
The project takes an evidence-based approach to land use to understand how to maximise returns for nature and the local community whilst producing food profitably. It is exploring different methods of land restoration including agroforestry, natural flood management, livestock rotations and innovative technical applications. The research, including monitoring nature recovery, has been enabled by a growing relationship with local science partners, including 12 MSc students and 2 PhD students (to date), and enthusiastic support from local volunteers.
Successes so far include the establishment of the first breeding populations of woodlarks in Gloucestershire in 6 years, growing populations of endangered animals such as dormice and a number of reptile species, and the re-establishment of rare plants.
The Sensory Garden at Stratford Park
Awarded for: The imaginative involvement of numerous volunteer groups to create a well-designed welcoming sensory garden to be enjoyed by the whole community.
About the project
Stratford Park in Stroud, is a well-established facility comprising a leisure centre, arboretum, tennis courts, museum and a walled garden (a previous CPRE award recipient).
The newly created sensory garden is ideally situated opposite the cafĆ© and leisure centre and readily visible from the parkās main footpath.
Key to this project is the involvement of various community members and groups who were consulted on what they wished to see on the former putting green, which had fallen into disrepair. Led by the Stroud Valleys Project working with Stroud District Council and Creative Sustainability, alongside the designer- Sarah Watts – the concept became a well-designed reality.
The project has involved many volunteers particularly from the Stroud Valleys Project. Others include Emerging Futures, BarBar Nursery, Brownies, Sunflower Suicide Support, Schools and Colleges to name but a few.
The involvement of all these diverse groups has seen the creation of different āsensoryā gardens providing a safe, contemplative, yet stimulating area for all ages to enjoy.
This is not a finished project but ongoing, following consultations, it continues to break new ground. There are plenty of ideas that lend the project a strong sense of achievement and buy in.
An exemplar – giving credit to the visionary organisations, drawing together a designed, community-led and maintained landscape, for all to see, smell, hear, taste and enjoy.
The Sunground, Avening
Awarded for: A sensitively designed and detailed project that provides urgently needed social rental and shared ownership housing, and that fits within its surroundings.
About the project
The Awards welcomed this submission at Avening, as CPRE has actively sought good examples of low cost housing schemes, as they are such a vital asset for rural communities.
The Sunground development is located at the end of a mix of social, affordable and market housing in the village of Avening. The architect has produced a partial court of nine homes for social rent, five for shared ownership, and on the north side a well-designed childrenās playground.
The merit of The Sunground is its use of simple and well detailed dwelling types. These acknowledge the District Councilās Design Code, using a restrained palette of external materials reflecting the colours and textures of existing local buildings. The dwellings are all built to current best practice performance standards, and are equipped with air source heat pumps and solar PV panels to reduce energy use.
As the schemeās location necessitates many residentsā journeys being by car. residential layouts can over emphasise highway and parking requirements; but here these have been handled well.
Overall, The Sunground has made a valuable contribution towards meeting the local shortfall of affordable rural housing, given that more than 300,000 people are on rural social housing waiting lists, nationwide.
Woodmancote Community Space and Playpark
Awarded for: A multi-generational community space and playpark, initiated, designed and created by the community, establishing a well-used area for all.
About the project
The small village of Woodmancote – in North Cerney Parish in the heart of the Cotswolds – is now the proud possessor of a much valued and well-used multi-generational play space, that fosters fitness and socializing, and acts as a venue for community events.
The land is leased from North Cerney Parish Council, but the area had become very rundown and unloved.
The transformation has been achieved by a committed and enthusiastic group of people from the village who worked tirelessly on the project. From an initial concept and ideas, through design and fundraising, and then implementation with improvements to the site and the installation of the play equipment, they accomplished the transformation in just over a year. This is a remarkable achievement. The parish Council will be overseeing the maintenance of the space so it should have an assured future.
Funding for the project was raised through CrowdFund Cotswold, the Enovert Community Trust and Bromford Housing Association who provided materials through their partner Travis Perkins.
Feedback from residents has been very positive. A regular comment is that the project has rejuvenated the village and resulted in new friendship groups being formed. The facilities are also being used by neighboring communities and have attracted the attention of other Parish Councils interested in learning from the Woodmancote experience.
All those involved must be very proud of what they have achieved for their community.
