At Heritage Day on 8 December Alliance Chairman Loyd Grossman announced the joint winners of this year’s Heritage Alliance Hero Award – a scheme celebrating the outstanding efforts of the half a million heritage volunteers across the country.
Heritage Alliance writes
Congratulations to Inayat Omarji of the All Souls Crompton Community Centre Trust in Bolton, and the volunteers of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways in Gwynedd. These two outstanding examples of voluntary effort in support of community heritage so impressed the judges that the decision was taken to announce joint winners of this year’s Award.
Inayat Omarji has spent the last seven years volunteering his time to help develop a major project to regenerate the Grade II* listed All Souls Church in Crompton, Bolton, into a sustainable community asset for the benefit of local people. The All Souls Community Centre Trust, of which Inayat is Chairman, worked tirelessly with the local community and the Churches Conservation Trust (a member of the Alliance) to develop a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, which will enable this much-loved local landmark to house a ‘pod’ creating a modern, multi-functional community centre. Thanks in large part to Inayat’s passion and commitment building work will begin in January 2012. The Trust expects to open the new centre to the community in summer 2013.
On receiving his Award from Loyd Grossman at the Alliance’s annual Heritage Day on 8 December, Inayat said: ‘It’s great to be recognised as a Heritage Alliance Hero, having committed seven years to the All Souls project. The hard work really starts now to sustain the project and to create and promote the marriage between the past and the future use of this fantastic church for all souls. It’s been and continues to be a fantastic partnership with the local community and the Churches Conservation Trust endorsing the vision, thus allowing us to reach this milestone.’
Joint winners of the Award are the volunteers of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, whose quarter of a century long project to restore the steam-hauled Welsh Highland Railway has resulted in a world-class heritage and tourist attraction, which is making a major economic contribution to the local community of Gwynedd. Between 1997 and 2011 over one thousand local volunteers have contributed their time, expertise and money towards gradually reconstructing and reopening the line. Their outstanding effort has created Britain’s longest heritage railway, stretching 40km between Caernarfon and Porthmadog, which research indicates is contributing at least £15m a year to the Welsh economy.
On receiving on behalf of all the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways volunteers the Award from Loyd Grossman at Heritage Day, volunteer Andy Savage said: ‘We’re really delighted to receive this Award in recognition of two decades of hard work from a vast group of volunteers. Their effort has preserved the railway for all to enjoy, and means it can again make a major contribution to the economy of North Wales.’
Alliance Chairman Loyd Grossman commented: ‘I’m thrilled to present the Heritage Alliance Hero Award to two such inspiring winners. Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways and All Souls Bolton are two outstanding examples of the power of our heritage to deliver important benefits to local communities. They paint a picture of the many thousands of enterprising volunteer-led heritage initiatives underway up and down the country, ensuring our past continues to make a valuable contribution to our future.’
More on the Award and the winners’ project, including photos, can be found at: LINK
