UPTON Civic Society has singled out the architects of the Hill Centre at Upton-upon-Severn for a top 2002 award.

Chairman, Simon Wilkinson, congratulated Holyer Purchase Design, of Bushley, and the clients, Malvern Hills District Council, for achieving an effective and pleasing building within a tight budget.

The architects were also constrained by the practical problem of re-using the original sports hall in the new sports and community centre.

"I am very pleased and honoured to have been given the award and to know that the people of Upton appreciate the building," said architect Nick Purchase.

"You can do fantastic things with fantastic amounts of money, but every decision we made here was referred back to capital cost.

"To minimise the amount of building work and disguise the ugly external walls of the sports hall we wrapped our extension around it.

"The lean-to design was economical to build and gives a large amount of usable floor area, which suited the function perfectly."

The award-winning architects are currently shortlisted for a Royal Institute of British Architects housing design award for a development in Tewkesbury.

Restoration and refurbishment work on three other buildings in Upton-upon-Severn has been highly commended by Upton Civic Society.

These are the exterior decoration of the White Lion, the transformation of a former butcher's shop into Neilano's Italian restaurant and the continuing refurbishment of Cromwells as a chocolate shop and interior design shop.