Castle Espie Wetland Restoration Project was named the NIEA Sustainable Building Project of the Year 2009 by Sustainable Ireland magazine at an event in Belfast recently.  The project received an HLF award of over £3million to restore and protect the biodiversity of the site, which was officially reopened last month.  With conservation and sustainability at its core, the project has secured the habitat for numerous species and created state-of-the-art facilities that will enable visitors to learn more about the rich heritage contained at the site. 
 
At the same ceremony, LVRP won the Environmental Project of the Year 2009 award. Laganscape, the Landscape Partnership Scheme supported by a £1.6million HLF grant, is a partnership between fifteen organisations whose achievements include the restoration of the Lock Keeper’s Cottage at Lock Number 3 and the Ancient Acorn Project. A dedicated volunteer team has been established to undertake projects in areas of need within the Park, including building bird and bat boxes, removing Himalayan balsam which is an invasive plant, collecting seeds and preparing them for germination, improving access and clearing litter.

Praise for the Braid, which received an HLF award of £4.4million for the creation of the new regional museum for Mid Antrim, came from the highly prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The project was named the overall winner of the RICS awards which recognise local projects for Regeneration, Building Conservation, Sustainability and Community Benefit.
 
Paul Mullan, Head of HLF Northern Ireland said the projects had delivered fantastic results and congratulated the teams on their success.

“We are committed to investing in heritage projects, whether large of small, that deliver high quality outputs and benefits for the people of Northern Ireland. We are delighted that these projects have been recognised for their excellence by industry experts, and the awards are testament to the skill, dedication and hard work of the project teams. On behalf of HLF, I congratulate everyone involved on this tremendous success.”

Further information

Julie Halliday, HLF Northern Ireland on 07733 100 674 or julieh@hlf.org.uk