Eco-building short-listed for excellence award

A sustainably-built and managed Cotswold building is in the running for a Building Excellence award just six months after it was opened. 

Maudslay Court, on the 320-acre Farncombe Estate between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon, was opened in November 2011 and is now in the running for the Best Commercial Building accolade in the West of England LABC Awards. 

The 32-bedroom courtyard is part of the award-winning Cotswold Conference Centre. It increases capacity for business delegates who meet for conferences, training and teambuilding – and for customers on leisure courses at weekends. 

Featuring a tower built from Cotswold stone, Maudslay Court looks over the panoramic landscape of the Vale of Evesham. It cost £3.5m to build and was designed with a host of renewable energy features and a monitoring system to track eco-efficiency. Eight bedrooms are certified allergy-free – a unique provision for any conference centre in Europe. 

The Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards recognise the very best in building design and construction and Maudslay Court is one of eight venues short-listed in the category. Others in the running include The Roman Baths in Bath, Warminster Civic Centre, Batswood Arboretum Visitor Centre near Moreton-in-Marsh and the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath. 

Richard Howdle, Operations Manager of Cotswold Conference Centre, said: “The building was named in honour of Dam Busters hero Henry Maudslay, whose family lived on Farncombe Estate during World War II. “Maudslay Court was officially opened at the end of 2011 by Victoria Trevelyan, the niece of Henry Maudslay, and we are proud both of the historical link and the quality of the unique venue. “To be short-listed in a category as competitive as the Best Commercial Building is fantastic.” 

The awards ceremony is being held on Thursday 21 June at the Bristol Marriott Hotel. 

Cotswold Conference Centre is a modern, award-winning venue based on the 320-acre Farncombe Estate, five minutes from the picturesque town of Broadway and just half-an-hour from Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon.