awards_planeThe IHT Awards ceremony took place last night at The Royal Airforce Museum in Hendon. Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception among some of the most famous aircrafts of all time and given the opportunity to be in the driving seat of a famous Bull Dog, with a ride in the in-house flight simulator.

The host for the evening was the famous Sir Geoff Hurst MBE, member of the 1966 World Cup winning England football team who delighted guests as they relaxed underneath the wings of a magnificent Lancaster Bomber.

The audience enjoyed a delicious dinner of salt beef and green bean salad, pot roasted whole baby chicken, hand cut parsnip chips with sweet gravy and a raspberry cranachan for dessert. 

A list of the winning entries can be found below or in our Competitions & Awards section.  Alternatively, please download the IHT Awards 2009 for entry overviews and photographs.

The Winners

The IHT/Highways Agency Health & Safety at Work Award

Ringway Jacobs - The Bubbles

Judges Comments
An original way of managing and communicating information in a user friendly way to the workforce, this excellent presentation of material, which heightens awareness of key safety issues, has the potential to be implemented widely both within and beyond the business.




The IHT/Department for Transport Manual for Streets Award

Tribal (submitted on behalf of Carvill Group Ltd) - Woodbrook Phase 1, Brokerstown Village, Lisburn 

Judges Comments
At present, MfS is not widely used in Northern Ireland.  As such, this scheme is a clear departure from the norm and demonstrates the designer's readiness to innovate to meet the housing needs of today.  The judges were particularly impressed with the attention given to community cohesion.  The village centre and green provide a strong community focus and the overall layout lends itself well to the use of sustainable modes of travel.




The IHT/Costain Award for Effective Partnerships

WYG Engineering Ltd and The Homes and Communities Agency - Corby Railway Station 

Judges Comments
A transformational project delivered to a very constrained timescale. The project clearly required a very effective partnership to manage the requirements of a large number of stakeholders combined with the multiplicity of inter-agency working. The submission demonstrated very clearly that this had been achieved very effectively.




The IHT/Atkins Road Safety Award - Reducing All Casualties

Staffordshire County Council & GreenRoad Technologies - Young Driver Coaching Programme

Judges Comments
This programme brings safety benefits to young drivers from their driving practice time and in review at home with parents and others, and enables them to learn from their mistakes and progressively improve performance in areas of weakness.  The scheme is based on robust technology, is affordable, and has scope for expansion to much wider coverage including industry involvement.




The IHT/Atkins Road Safety Award - Reducing Child Casualties

Carmarthenshire County Council - Carmarthenshire Community Safety Project – Carway Primary School

Judges Comments
The Judges felt the success of the project resulted from the community-based approach of understanding road safety concerns and addressing these in the scheme, for safety and wider benefits such as punctuality at school; physical and social activity for children, and an improved environment in the village as a whole.




The IHT/Skanska Sustainability Award

Manchester Airport - Manchester Airport's Carbon Reduction Plan 

Judges Comments
The entry concerns the management of activities the airport itself controls and its response to the negative environmental impacts of airport operations, not the aircraft using it, nor the passengers travelling to and from the airport. Following publication of the Manchester Airport Environmental Plan in 2007, its’ carbon reduction strategy included aims to be carbon neutral with regard to energy use and vehicle fuel by 2015, thus underpinning their commitment to a sustainable environment for the wider and particularly local community.




The IHT/Colas Award for Technological Application

Birse Civils Limited - A14 Haughley New Street to Stowmarket Improvement

Judges Comments
The Judges were particularly impressed with the innovative in-cab application of real-time GPS technology in the grading process and its portability from the earthworks stage to final surfacing, achieving a superior ride quality. The A14 Haughley New Street to Stowmarket Improvement scheme is an excellent example of how technology can be applied to not only achieve on-site efficiencies and safety benefits, but also to deliver a better quality end product.




The IHT/Ringway Award for Innovation

A-One Integrated Highway Services - The Retriever Motorcycle Recovery Unit

Judges Comments
Lateral thinking has resulted in the development of an innovative motorcycle based recovery vehicle that can reduce travel delays by reaching breakdowns quickly through standing traffic. The Judges were impressed by the significant real-time benefits that have already been achieved since its introduction, including a substantial reduction in the duration of incident-led congestion resulting in more reliable journey times, particularly on all-purpose roads. This ingenious service is providing significant cost benefits and less disruption for the travelling public. 




The IHT/Parsons Brinckerhoff Environmental Award

liftshare.com Ltd - liftshare V3 

Judges Comments
An example of a well planned and self-funded social enterprise that has exceeded its own performance targets for membership.  It is a sustainable and innovative idea with the potential to be rolled out widely as it is potentially a strong commercial proposition and is a smart solution for those who live and work in the UK.




The IHT/Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure Award for Security in the Public Realm

MFD International Ltd - BAA T5 HVM Bollards

Judges Comments
A uniquely challenging project where both civil and security engineering skills were needed to design and construct an effective scheme in a pedestrian permeable and aesthetically attractive area. The Judges were impressed by the very rapid pace of applied consultancy to innovate with foundation designs and adapt newly developed and tested bollard systems to fit within the ground conditions and depths available at the site.




The IHT/Transport for London Award for Urban Design

Mouchel - Edge Lane Highways & Environmental Improvement Scheme

Judges Comments
This Scheme deals with a huge urban arterial trunk road, a problem for many big cities and that is often treated as a fact of life rather than a challenge, as this does.  The Judges feel that the Scheme respects the movement and place functions and reengages people, creating a ‘front door’ to a distinct place.