A HERITAGE centre and a community garden have been recognised for enhancing their neighbourhoods at an awards ceremony.

Projects to restore the St Mary-le-Bow Durham Heritage Centre and Museum, and create a community garden at Brandon Allotments were among 17 to be honoured in the 2002 Environment Awards.

The Durham County Council competition is the only one of its type in the region and is in its 14th year.

Yesterday, 39 entries were received in a range of categories, with the judges presenting eight awards, nine commendations and two cash prizes at County Hall, Durham.

The St Mary-le-Bow Heritage Centre, a former church next to Durham Cathedral, received an award for the repair and repointing of its stonework.

Stonemason Peter Cover-dale was given the task of restoring it after the centre secured a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £130,000.

Architect Dennis Jones, who is also a centre trustee, said: "I think it's an excellent job. It's safeguarded the fabric of the building for the museum's use."

Brandon Allotments was recognised in the natural category for its community garden.

With help from Groundwork East Durham, local people transformed derelict land into an area for growing organic vegetables and native flowers, to be used by local schools and special needs groups.

They were rewarded for their efforts with a cash prize of £100.

Other award and commendation recipients included the Ferryhill Interact club at Ferryhill Comprehensive School, which recycles classroom waste and donates the proceeds to charity; and Wingate and District Community Association, which demolished and rebuilt a school to create a community centre.

Durham County Council chairman Alan Fenwick, said: "This year, the scheme has been very successful, with a very high number of good quality projects both large and small making the judges' job particularly difficult."

The award and commendation recipients were: The Old Vicarage, Laithkirk; Fore Bondgate, Bishop Auckland; the Four Clocks Centre, Bishop Auckland; The Dovecote, Rokeby Park, Barnard Castle; St Mary-le-Bow Durham Heritage Centre and Museum; The Tower House, Lartington; 283 Toft Hill, Bishop Auckland; 16 The Village, Brancepeth; Blackhill and Consett Park; Durham Crematorium; Brandon Allotments; Ferryhill Comprehensive School; Wingate Community Centre; the World Citizenship Project, Durham; Swallows Nest Holiday Cottage, Cockfield; Asda superstore, Bishop Auckland; Hamsterley Forest; Woodhouse Park, Peterlee, and Willington Community Resource Centre.