Glastonbury Town Deal projects scoop top planning awards

By Laura Linham 3rd Jul 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

Two Glastonbury projects have scooped major planning awards after transforming one of the town's most historic corners.

St Dunstan's House Community Health & Wellbeing Centre and the Abbey Yard public realm scheme won Best Project and Best in Region at the Royal Town Planning Institute South West Awards for Planning Excellence.

The double win means the projects will now go forward to the RTPI National Awards for Planning Excellence, where they will compete against leading planning and regeneration schemes from across the UK.

The awards recognise the transformation of Glastonbury Abbey Yard alongside the refurbishment of St Dunstan's House into a new community health and wellbeing centre. Glastonbury Town Council said the success showed what can happen when heritage, accessibility, sustainability and community need are planned together rather than treated as separate battles.

Although the Abbey Yard works and St Dunstan's House refurbishment were delivered by separate design teams, the two projects developed alongside each other. Consultants, planners, heritage specialists, Somerset Council and Glastonbury Town Council worked together to create a shared vision for one of the town's most sensitive and significant locations.

St Dunstan's House has been turned into a Community Health & Wellbeing Centre, but the town council said the project was always about more than simply refurbishing an old building. The aim was to create a welcoming, accessible and sustainable place for local people while respecting the character of the listed building.

The work included a new main entrance, a replacement balcony, internal alterations and a lift which has made the building fully accessible for the first time. The council said the planning process helped improve the final design, rather than just adding red tape.

One of the clearest examples was an internal historic wall which had originally been considered for removal to create a larger consultation room. After discussions with planners, the wall was kept, and the space became a quiet private counselling room overlooking the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey.

Conor Ogilvie-Davidson, town clerk and project lead for St Dunstan's House Community Health & Wellbeing Centre, said: "This award is a tremendous achievement and reflects the dedication, expertise and collaboration of everyone involved throughout the project.

"We are incredibly proud that St Dunstan's House forms part of a wider regeneration project that has been recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute for planning excellence."

He said the ambition from the start was to preserve the special character of the building while creating a community facility that is welcoming, inclusive and accessible to everyone.

He added: "The planning process itself played a hugely positive role in shaping the final design. The retention of the historic internal wall, which now creates a beautiful private counselling room overlooking the Abbey grounds, perfectly demonstrates how thoughtful planning can lead to better outcomes than those first imagined.

"This project shows what can be achieved when heritage, accessibility, sustainability and community wellbeing are considered together."

Environmental work was also central to the scheme. Landscape proposals for St Dunstan's House and Abbey Yard were developed together, with attention given to biodiversity, sustainable drainage, sensitive planting, reuse of historic materials and protection for rare bat species known to use both sites.

Glastonbury Town Council said the two schemes had changed the experience of arriving at Glastonbury Abbey while creating a high-quality health and wellbeing facility rooted in the town's historic surroundings.

The award entry was made by Mott MacDonald, which acted as planning agent during the early stages of the project. The wider professional team included O2i Architects, Dowlas Property Group, MODE Consult, SEED Landscape Design, Houghton Greenlees, Morgan Structural, Qualitas Compliance, TCB, Total Building Control and Johns Associates.

Melhuish & Saunders Limited was also named among those involved in the award celebration by the project team.

Glastonbury Town Council thanked all partners, consultants, contractors and the local community who helped bring the projects to life. It also thanked Somerset Council's planning and conservation officers, saying their constructive involvement helped shape a scheme that brings heritage conservation and modern community use together.

The national finalists are due to be announced on Wednesday, 7 October, with winners honoured at the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence ceremony in London on Thursday, 3 December.

For Glastonbury, the national shortlisting means St Dunstan's House and Abbey Yard will now represent the town on a much bigger stage.