The Wrexham Area Civic Society Awards evening was held last night when four winners received their awards from Cllr Michael Morris, chairman of the planning committee, at Gresford Memorial Hall.

Civic Society chairman Nick Roe said: “This evening is the most important event in the Civic Society’s year, when we draw attention to the best new architecture and landscaping, in the hope that this will become as highly valued as our historic places. We should not see our heritage as static, but rather as something to be added to continually.”

The Civic Society is pressing for more conservation areas and it has an ongoing project on war memorials which it is hoped will conclude with a book and exhibition.

The winners included the Garden of Senses at Plas Madoc which won the Ruth Howarth Award. The garden features a snaking path which is covered by creepers full of miniature lights, a water feature running down an s-shaped mirror, brightly coloured mushroom-shaped seats, a gong and a variety of plants in beds contained in brick walls. Judges said: “It is an original, though simple, idea that a garden should involve all of our senses. It has been realised here at Plas Madoc with a lot of imagination and skill. It is sensitively co-ordinated within an area that seems much larger than it really is. We have no hesitation in giving this project the Ruth Howarth award for an outstanding contribution to Wrexham’s environment. This award is named after the late Ruth Howarth, who was a much-liked, hard-working and long-serving member of the Civic Society and other local organisations.”

The work was carried out by Plas Madoc Communities First Limited funded by the National Lottery. The project was designed and delivered by Communities First staff, local volunteers and Plas Madoc children. It created training opportunities for the young people of Plas Madoc and provides an educational resource area for Rhosymedre Infant and Junior schools and a garden for the adjoining Integrated Children's Centre.

The Ebenezer Chapel conversion in Cefn Mawr won the award for restoration or refurbishment of an existing building.

Judges said: “When churches or chapels fall out of use, it is often very difficult to find new uses for them which do not alter their character beyond recognition. Here at Cefn, a very daring project has enhanced rather than obliterated the chapel’s distinctive qualities. We were critical, though, of the use of artificial stone for the copings and dressings. A couple more unfortunate lapses were the standard issue litter bin and the intruder alarm placed too close to the lettering facing Crane Street: both of these, though, are capable of remedy.”

The extension echoes the forms of the chapel. Work includes a pitched slate roof, top-level lighting, Cefn sandstone walls and small square panels which echo the old date panels.