They’ve been guardians of the best of Blackpool for almost 40 years – and it’s almost time for Blackpool Civic Trust (BCT) to reveal what made 2013 so special for them.
Blackpool Football Club’s Sponsors’ Lounge is the venue for the Civic Trust’s 39th Annual Awards Evening and Dinner on Thursday 27 February.
Categories on the night include Best New Build, Best Refurbishment, Open Space, Community and Night-time Economy. The awards have been independently judged and will be announced and presented at the dinner, compered by Radio Wave’s Andy Mitchell.
The evening kicks off at 6.15pm with a drinks reception, followed by the awards presentation at 6.30pm and then the dinner at 8pm. Local historian and author, Gerry Wolstenholme will say a few words about the history and development of the Football Club as Blackpool itself developed.
Trust chairman Joan Humble explained the thinking behind the awards:
They highlight how BCT looks forward as well as protecting Blackpool’s heritage. The Blackpool Civic Trust’s Awards are special because they are an opportunity for local people to make nominations in a whole range of categories of interesting new buildings, refurbishments, community initiatives and many more. So much good happens in Blackpool that isn’t always acknowledged – and this is our chance to do just that.
Joan continued:
Some of the winners are chosen by an independent panel and others by the members of the Civic Trust’s Executive Committee. The independent panel usually includes planning experts and architects, a youth judge and also BCT’s planning officer. The panel of judges tends to concentrate on the buildings, while the Executive Committee looks at the school and community nominations.
Sometimes there is an outstanding nomination that makes judging easy but on other occasions it can be much more difficult when we get several very good nominations in the same category. The guests at our Awards Dinner will see for themselves the winners and will judge whether any are surprises or just what they expected.
Previous winners include The Oracle, Abingdon Street Market, Blackpool Council Illuminations Department and Aunty Social.
For more about the Blackpool Civic Trust, visit their website.
