Industry acclaim for WCEC!
11 Dec 2007
WCEC Architects have secured industry acclaim for their design of the Marshall’s Yard mixed use development in Gainsborough, winning the prestigious British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) Gold Award for In-Town Retail Schemes of 300,000 sq ft or less, one of the retail industry’s most prestigious awards.
WCEC designed the scheme for developers Dransfield Properties and Prospect Estates. The BCSC award makes it a hat trick of awards for Marshall’s Yard, which has already won this year’s RTPI East Midlands Award for Regeneration and East Midlands Development Agency Regeneration Project of the Year.
The announcement was made at a special awards ceremony in London which was attended by over 1,200 of the countries leading retail professionals. In presenting the award, Neil Varnham, chairman of the awards jury for the British Council of Shopping Centres said: “Marshall’s Yard is one of the finest examples of architecture we have seen in many years, and the attention to detail is superb. The centre has had a tremendous impact in Gainsborough, which is once again a vibrant town centre.”
Marshall’s Yard opened in April this year and has transformed a brownfield site, which had been derelict for many years, into a vibrant visitor destination. Marks and Spencer, Next, Laura Ashley, JJB and Costa Coffee are among the tenant line up and are helping to attract thousands of shoppers every week.
On the site of a former engineering works, Marshall’s Yard incorporates many listed structures, and with new architecture carefully designed to blend the old with the new, the centre has a unique architectural mix not found in typical shopping centres.
The regeneration benefits are being felt throughout the town with town centre traders reporting an increase in turnover, some by as much as 100 per cent.
Gavin Ward, partner at WCEC said: “We are honoured to win such a prestigious award. Marshall’s Yard presented a number of unusual design challenges and this award recognises the tremendous amount of effort which went into delivering a high quality scheme which has acted as a catalyst for further investment into the town. ”