Stadium wins top award

Colchester United's landmark stadium - home to the town's football club - has won an award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The Weston Homes Community Stadium has been named this year's overall winner in the RICS East of England Awards. The regeneration award was scooped by the Accordia housing development in Brooklands, Cambridge. The RICS said the Weston Homes Community Stadium project has seen a fantastic new facility for Colchester United Rugby Club, but also benefits to the wider community.

Councillor Anne Turrell, leader of Colchester Borough Council - which owns the building - said: "It is a fantastic recognition for the hard work of all the stakeholders that have been
involved in making the stadium a reality."

The stadium also won the community benefit award with the Stockwood Discovery in Luton, Bedfordshire, and the Riverside Bridge, in Cambridge, were highly commended in the category.

The new Auction Rooms for GE Sworder and Sons in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, scooped the Sustainability Award.