Environmental Project Wins Award
Chesham has scooped the Environment and Culture Award in the South East England regional round of the 2008 Market Town Awards. This award was established to recognise the importance of market towns as a focus for environmental regeneration.
The award was given for the partnership work to renovate the public Meades Water Gardens off Red Lion Street in the heart of the town. The project has seen the once run-down gardens made more accessible and attractive to people, through footpath upgrading and tree work. The wildlife value of the site has been significantly enhanced by restoring the chalk stream that once flowed through the site. Chalk streams are a highly important wildlife habitat, housing some of our most endangered species, such as brown trout and water voles.
It is an innovative project, with support and involvement from local residents, councils and conservation bodies that has seen the revitalisation and conservation of a town centre green space. As a category winner, the regeneration project will be used as a Best Practice Case Study to inspire other market towns.
Project team members will give a presentation at the awards ceremony in Billingshurst on 11th July, where it will compete with the winners of other categories (Social & Community, Business & Economy and Partnership & Strategic Working) to be named the overall Best Market Town Project in the South East of England.