Winner - The Chapter of York for York Minster Centre of Excellence for Heritage Skills & Estate Management and the York Minster Photovoltaic Array.
The Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management has established the York Minster Precinct as a world class campus facility for research, education and training in ancient craft skills. It brings benefits including continuing the craft of stonemasonry and encouraging global learning and knowledge sharing. It will also preserve traditional craft skills for future generations, as well as being a shining example of best practice in managing complex heritage estates. Utilising world-class, cutting-edge technology, it also supports young people in the early stages of their careers and provides dedicated residential facilities for our first year apprentices and those visiting from our international network. The vision for the Centre of Excellence is a key element of the adopted York Minster Precinct Neighbourhood Plan (June 2022) which sets out a policy-led approach to creating a sustainable future for the Minster and its seven hectare estate.
Sustainability sits at the heart of the York Minster Precinct Neighbourhood Plan (2022) which provides a planning policy-led approach to the care of York Minster and its 7ha estate to 2035. York Minster has been very clear in its Neighbourhood Plan that the greatest threat to the fabric of this ancient building, the Precinct and our many heritage properties are extreme weather events brought about by climate change. The 184 PV panels are now anticipated to generate in excess of 70,000 kWh of power a year and form part of a wider Precinct drive to net zero.
The Judges said: "A really positive project located within the main cathedral estate and clearly meeting an identified local need whilst at the same time acting as a clear example of best practice for other historic buildings across the globe.
"Both buildings are neatly blended into what is an incredibly sensitive local environment and certainly in relation to the workshop/accommodation block, it appears to have improved significantly what was previously an underused / neglected area of land."