RESIDENTS of and visitors to Bovey Tracey have reason to celebrate as The Riverside Community Centre in the town has been crowned Winner of best Public Sector Project in the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Awards 2022), South West Region.

Mayor, Cllr Sheila Brooke said: ‘Bovey Tracey has a thriving and creative local community which played a key role in shaping the vision for this project. We are delighted to see our years of hard work recognised with this award.’

Situated at the western gateway of the town, the new community centre was built on the site of the former The Old Thatched Inn on Station Road. It opened in 2020 and includes a library, information centre, town hall and town council offices, business incubation offices, public toilets and a multipurpose meeting / events space, all under one roof.

The project beat off stiff competition from schools, hospitals and infrastructure schemes. The judges commented: ‘This project is an excellent example of a locally designed, locally led public sector project which responds imaginatively to the needs of end users.’

A spokesman for Bovey Tracey Town Council said: ‘The building was the result a collaboration by the town council, design team and contractor. The fact that it was delivered on time and on budget during a very challenging time for the construction industry is testament to the teamwork involved.

‘The project wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of our funding partners, including Bovey Tracey Hospital League of Friends, GDLeaf, Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and Bovey Tracey Town Council.’

Peregrine Mears, Director of Peregrine Mears Architects added: ‘It’s brilliant to think we stood on this site five years ago to start this journey with the community of Bovey Tracey and this building is now here and being used by one and all.’