Restoration work to Lightwoods House wins award

The Lightwoods House restoration scheme picked up the Best Public Building title in the West Midlands Building Excellence Awards.

The house and park have undergone a transformation under the £5.2 million Lightwoods Park and House restoration project, with £3.6 million secured from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

As part of the project, the Grade II listed house, built in 1791, has been lovingly restored back to its former glory and is now a high-quality venue for a wide range of community activities as well as public and private events.

Just over two years ago, a long-awaited project to bring Lightwoods House in Smethwick to life got under way after fears it would be lost forever.

The 16-acre park in which the house has stood since 1791, has also been getting a facelift so it can be widely used by the community.

The house itself has been transformed, from the reclaimed slate-tiled roof to the new oak flooring on the ground floor with many period features restored.

Now the house has a tea room, community rooms for training, classes and exhibitions, a children’s centre, a large function room for events such as wedding ceremonies, receptions and conferences as well as numerous office spaces to let.

In the future, it is hoped the site can secure a Green Flag and a Green Heritage Award.

The building’s many original features have been carefully restored by the contractors, Conservation Heritage Building & Conservation (Staffordshire) Ltd, working alongside architects from Sandwell Council’s Urban Design team.

Nominations for the prestigious awards are made by building control teams from councils across the West Midlands metropolitan region.

Winners were presented with their awards at an event held at Birmingham’s ICC on Friday April 28.

Sandwell’s other winner was a new self-build in Corngreaves Road, Cradley Heath which picked up the Best Individual Home award.