Our favourite Heritage Hero!

The Heritage Alliance Hero Award is a scheme celebrating the outstanding efforts of half a million heritage volunteers across the country. 

We are delighted to annouce that this year Inayat Omarji of the Crompton Community Centre Trust in Bolton (the organisation working in partnership with CCT to develop All Souls church in Bolton) won the award jointly with the volunteers of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways in Gwynedd.

The award was presented by Loyd Grossman OBE FSA who is chairman of both The Heritage Alliance and of The Churches Conservation Trust. 

Inayat and the Crompton Community Centre Trust are our key local community project partners and Inayat has worked tireleslly to get the project off the ground. 

All Souls is set to become a modern, multi-functional space for the local community and people of Bolton. It aims to be a truly ground breaking national flagship project that will turn a disused historic church into a community centre for all local people of all faiths or none.

Read more about the All Souls, Bolton project

Accepting the award Inayat said 

"It’s great to be recognised as a Heritage Alliance Hero, having committed seven years to the All Souls project. The hard work really starts now to sustain the project and to create and promote the marriage between the past and the future use of this fantastic

church for all souls. It’s been and continues to be a fantastic partnership with the local community and the Churches Conservation Trust endorsing the vision, thus allowing us to reach this milestone." 

Peter Aiers, Head of Regeneration says:

"Having worked with Inayat for the past few years on this project and seen all the hard work he has put in I'm delighted to see his efforts recognised in this way."

Read more about the Heritage Alliance Awards