Kings Weston has again received some national notoriety. Last week KWAG’s co-founder and chairman was invited to London to receive a Heritage Hero award for his voluntary work on the estate. The award was presented as part of the Heritage Alliance’s Heritage Day at RSA House. The Heritage Alliance is England’s biggest coalition of heritage organisations, representing groups as diverse as the National Trust and the Historic Houses Association, to more specialist conservation bodies. The Alliance said “England’s heritage sector simply couldn’t function without the hard work and dedication of its volunteers. The Heritage Heroes Award, supported by Ecclesiastical Insurance, is the Heritage Alliance’s celebration of the amazing achievements of volunteers.”
 
The Alliance’s chairman, Lloyd Grossman, said ‘every day, thousands of people around the country give up their time for free on projects like King’s Weston without public recognition.  The heritage sector is dependent on volunteers to save and cherish heritage that would otherwise be lost. David Martyn has worked incredibly hard and achieved stunning results. I hope his success will inspire others to give up their time and get involved with local heritage projects’.
 
As part of his acceptance speech Mr Martyn recognised the efforts of all KWAG’s volunteers in supporting the estate, whether through working party events, helping behind the scenes, or even those members who support the group from afar. It is heartening to know that in just six years KWAG’s efforts promoting and conserving the estate are being noticed at a national level.