EAST Oxford went head- to-head with historic Oxford University colleges at this year’s Oxford Preservation Trust’s environmental awards.

And projects east of Magdalen Bridge more than held their own, with the Pegasus Theatre and council houses in Rose Hill sharing the honours with the likes of Christ Church and the Sheldonian Theatre.

Colleges always figure prominently in the awards, recognising preservation and new buildings.

But with the awards now also honour community and small projects, the 34th Oxford Preservation Trust awards produced a variety of winners.

The Pegasus Theatre, in Magdalen Road, won an award for its £7.4m revamp, which the judges said had created “a stunning place” that was acting as a catalyst for improving the whole area.

They said: “The theatre, with its many workshops and creative classes, functioned in buildings designed as a school meals canteen, a situation that meant that this was a project waiting to happen. The Pegasus Theatre is something very special, a building of a standard and design not seen in this part of the city until now.”

A much older theatre, the Sheldonian, received an award for a major redecoration which saw the restoration of the theatre’s original colour scheme. The gilt and bright colours in the Christopher Wren building were removed and replaced with subtle original colours.

The redevelopment of Rose Hill secured an award for Oxford City Council, in a scheme which saw the first council houses to be built in Oxford in 40 years.

The council was praised for its “commitment to housing and to improving Rose Hill” with the new houses and flats said to have added to the wider street scene.

The Community Award went to the Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, which got the £500 prize for work done to transform an area to the south of the city. Volunteers, schools and other groups now regularly use the reserve.

University projects to win the much-coveted plaques included the conservation work at 11th century St Cross Church, Holywell, by Balliol College; Christ Church’s scheme to put in a lift behind a 16th-century staircase to allow disabled access into its historic Great Hall; and for the Kendrew Quadrangle in John’s College.

Trust director Debbie Dance said: “The range of projects, from the vernacular to the grand, encapsulates something of the spirit of Oxford as a place.

“The idea of the new community award is a recognition of the way groups and neighbourhoods can make a difference.”

A further 20 certificates and letters of commendation were awarded to a variety of projects, including Green Templeton College for the Rewley Abbey Gateway, Oxfordshire County Council for New Inn Hall Street, the Oxford Castle Mound Restoration work and the City Council for the transformation of Fisher Row.

The awards, presented last Thursday, were sponsored by Kemp and Kemp Property Consultants.

All entries were judged by an panel of experts with a wide knowledge of the city and its countryside.