Laura Sandys, Vice-president of Civic Voice said; “Swindon Railway village was built shortly after the Great Western Railway works established in 1841 to house the workers and their families. Those people didn’t just build a railway, but a community.”

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Swindon Railway Village beat off a challenge from 17 other conservation areas shortlisted.

 

The top 3 for the first year of the award where:

(1) Swindon Railway Village Conservation Area

(2) Port Sunlight Conservation Area 

(3) Lichfield City Centre Conservation Area.

 

Joan Humble, Chair of Civic Voice said: “When we decided to launch England’s Favourite Conservation Area, we wanted to use it to test the enthusiasm people have for the place where they live. To get people talking about why conservation areas matter. What it has turned out to be is something truly amazing. It has surpassed all our expectations at Civic Voice. We received 249 entries from across the country and from announcing the shortlist to announcing the winner, we received just under 16,000 votes in 14 days. People do care about where they live. I look forward to visiting each of the winners at some point soon with Civic Voice.”

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You can see the order of winners in order below.