Winners of the 2004 North Norfolk Environment Awards

Architect Jim Bond has made the biggest contribution to North Norfolk's environment out of all the Environment Awards entrants of the last 10 years, it was announced today (Thursday, 8 July, 2004).

Mr Bond won the special 10th Anniversary Award in the 2004 North Norfolk Environment Awards for his outstanding contribution to the sustainability and enhancement of our District, with his innovative 'green' building designs and refurbishment projects - several of which have won Environment Awards in their own right in recent years.

The other projects and organisations to be honoured at the event, held at Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham, were:

SCHOOLS (category supported by the North Norfolk News and Dereham and Fakenham Times):
* WINNER: Colby School - Healthy Eating Week and ongoing environmental work.
* RUNNER-UP: Sidestrand Hall School - Development of school grounds to support different study areas.

COMMUNITY (category supported by North Norfolk Radio):
* WINNER: Ludham Parish Map - A Jubilee year textile project which involved the community in exploring the area's natural features, and reaching out to people in a variety of ways.
* RUNNER-UP: Aldborough allotments - Engaging a wide range of residents in turning a set-aside field into allotments.

SMALL BUSINESS:
* WINNER: Huff and Puff Cycle Hire, Kelling Heath Holiday Park - Seasonal tourism business offering many traffic-free cycle routes.
* RUNNER-UP: Bradfield Hall Farm and Nature Reserve - Showing how a nature reserve can exist alongside commercial farming.

LARGE BUSINESS:
* WINNER: Listawood Holdings, Fakenham - Increasing environmental awareness and introducing environmentally-friendly projects, monitoring systems and waste disposal.
* RUNNER-UP: Heinz Frozen and Chilled Foods, Worstead - Improvements to a biodiversity project started last year, and progress with waste and energy reduction and recycling projects.

GREEN BUILD:
* WINNER: George Owen for Ralphs, Plumstead - An environmentally-sensitive, low-energy house in rural surroundings.
* SPECIALLY-COMMENDED: Keith Reardon for 'Fresno', Roughton - A home built of sustainable/recycled materials, and to have as little impact on the local and wider environment as possible.

The winners of the Schools, Community, Small Business and Green Build categories received a cheque for £250, while the Large Business winner received a trophy hand-made by pupils of Sheringham High and Woodfields Schools. The trophy, in the shape of a hot-air balloon, was made from recycled material including a bicycle wheel and basketry. All winners and runners-up were given commemorative plaques.

North Norfolk District Council marked the occasion by making its own CRed pledge - an undertaking to work to reduce carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2025, as part of a campaign founded by the internationally-renowned School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia.

The Council's Deputy Leader, Councillor Clive Stockton, said: "Carbon reduction is particularly important to North Norfolk as climate change - a direct result of the high level of carbon emissions - could have a significant impact on this low-lying coastal District.

"This has been recognised and the result has been a long-standing commitment to developing and implementing the Council's environmental policy. Today's 10th anniversary of the Environment Awards is proof of that commitment. The Council is pleased to be able to sign up to a CRed pledge today and join with partners across the region in taking action to reduced carbon emissions.

"Specifically, North Norfolk will pledge to continue to purchase green energy for the Cromer offices and roll out green energy purchasing for all Council offices, follow the energy audit carried out for the Cromer office with other energy audits at all the Council's offices, and implement our commitment to sustainable construction through the Well Built programme and support research into green building materials."