Paul’s award for helping to restore town’s heritage

Paul Warren of Derbyshire County Council’s Conservation and Design Team manages the Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas (PSiCA) grant scheme which has seen repairs and restoration to shops and houses in the town.

A spokesperson for Belper Civic Forum said: “We decided to give this year’s annual Civic Award to Paul for pulling out all the stops in ensuring success for the scheme, which came to an end last month.”

After Paul received his award at the annual general meeting of Belper Civic Forum, Barry Joyce of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust gave a presentation on the historic buildings grant schemes which have brought conservation-led regeneration to the town. The biggest of these was the Townscape Heritage Initiative, which restored the Ritz cinema and the Black Swan, as well as many others.

The presentation ended with the heightening concern over the state of the jewel in Belper’s crown – the town’s former mills complex.

The Historic Buildings Trust hopes to help with renewed efforts to regenerate these world-important buildings and Civic Forum members agreed they would help in any way they can.

The civic award was first presented last year to the Old Grammar School opposite De Bradelei Mills whose owners received the award. The large sash windows on the front of that building benefited from a PSiCA grant.