This has been a vintage year for nominations for the Society's Award. Eight very varied nominations were made by various people. After much discussion of the eight excellent nominations; the Award Committee decided unanimously to give this year’s award to Malvern College for its new residential building which contains two boarding houses for sixty eight boys and fifty three girls, with study bedrooms, dining and common rooms. The Award Committee considered it to be a building of exceptional quality which will still give pleasure in fifty or even a hundred years’ time. It’s modern in design while traditional in style and materials; it fits very comfortably with its Victorian neighbours. The Committee had no doubt that its young residents will feel very much at home there. They congratulated the College, their Manchester architects, Squires and Brown, and their local builder, Speller Metcalfe. The nominations were:

MALVERN COLLEGE, Two new boarding houses in College Road for 68 boys and 53 girls with study bedrooms, dining and common rooms 

BURFORD HOUSE, Worcester Road. Total renovation of an important late Georgian Grade 2 listed house in a central Malvern location. 

"EASTRY", NO. 3 COLLEGE GROVE. Another total refurbishment of an impressive Victorian house: with Elgarian associations, and conversion to five apartments. 

MALVERN COLLEGE. A new sports complex: that includes sports hall, swimming pool, climbing walls, conference centre and many other facilities. 

PROSPECT CLOSE, Pickersleigh Road. A new development of 50 two bedroomed apartments; 24 for rent and 26 for shared ownership; providing affordable housing for local people. 

21 HIGHFIELD ROAD, A new timber-framed house using traditional building methods: in conjunction with the latest technology in heating, insulation and modern conveniences. 

CRYSTAL MOUNT, Albert Road North. A new development of fourteen two and three bedroomed apartments and penthouses.

ST ANDREW'S CHURCH, Poolbrook. A new extension on a constricted site providing six function and activity rooms, toilets and storage space. 

Civic Voice is the new national charity for the civic movement. The majority of the trustees are elected by Civic Society members. In contrast to its immediate predecessor, the Civic Trust, financial independence is sought through a direct membership from local groups. The objective is for everyone to know that they have a voice and a champion for the place where they live.

The Executive Committee has discussed joining Civic Voice, the successor to the Civic Trust, in some detail; while we would like to continue our membership of the organization that represents civic societies, the subscription is £1.50 per member, this would amount to paying the maximum figure for a civic society of £500.00. 

We have agreed to continue our membership of West MASA, the West Midlands umbrella group which will be affiliated to Civic Voice and which costs us £30 pa. In this way, we will be able to take advantage of any advice and information issued by Civic Voice. Meanwhile we will continue to keep the situation under review and will let you know what we decide. Meanwhile, If you have a view about us joining Civic Voice or not we would be interested to hear from you.

http://www.civicvoice.org.uk

This has been much discussed in the Press in recent weeks due to the fact that the District Council plan to withdraw its 50% contribution for lamp maintenance as from 1st April 2011. 

In 2007, one of our members, Ted Larner, embarked on a comprehensive review of all the lamps in the Malvern area - there were several conflicting lists of lamps being used by the District and Parish Councils and it was important to have a definitive schedule. This is nearing completion and has been the important element in discussing the problem. 

Not only has Ted been able to tell the Councils how many lamps we have and where they are, he has done his own research in developing new technology to significantly reduce maintenance and running costs. This valuable research is now being used by the Councils. 

There are more than 100,000 gas lamps in use across Europe - the major continental cities of Berlin, Prague and Vienna - and Malvern is also using their expertise in retaining this important part of our Victorian heritage. We have to think of posterity as well as balancing the books.

The Society will, once again, be supporting this enterprise. £250 will be donated to provide hanging baskets around the Bandstand in Priory Park. 

The Conservators are to be congratulated on their plans to revive the Café At the Well and set up a Visitor Centre. It will be a major attraction and will encourage visitors into the town

Views of 'the worm' from above and below the bridge in Avenue Road

The Malvern Civic Society has been talking to Network Rail about Malvern’s unique luggage tunnel, colloquially known as ‘the Worm’ that originally linked the railway station with the Imperial Hotel (now Malvern St. James School). 

The main problem is the cost of repair. As with all listed buildings, the presumption is always in favour of preservation and the District Council and English Heritage will expect Network Rail, who have favoured demolition mainly on grounds of cost, to explore all possible new uses and to investigate the possibility of partnership with other bodies leading to retention. Demolition is considered to be a last resort and would require a convincing case to justify losing an interesting piece of our social history.

The Society has welcomed the decision to build a new 24 bed community hospital on the Seaford Court site off the A449 Worcester Road. In our submissions we have questioned the provision for car parking; traffic management; tree preservation; future expansion; environmental impact and the building’s overall appearance.

Malvern Community Hospital Newsletter 

(Produced by the Worcestershire NHS Trust)