A REVAMPED church hall in Worcester has received a second award for outstanding design.

St George's Catholic church in Sansome Place, Lowesmoor, has won the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Midlands award for community benefit.

The accolade comes after the hall was made joint winner in the city council's annual City Award scheme because of its outstanding appearance.

In making the award in Birmingham, the judges said: "The meeting hall is very well built, user-friendly and has a novel but well done design, with a magnificent roof and ceiling."

St George's Hall will now be entered into the national RICS awards, the winner of which will be announced in London in October.

Father Paul Fitzpatrick, the priest at the church, said he was "shocked and surprised" that the building had been given the award, which follows a revamp costing about £1.3 million.

He said: "I didn't think we were going to win, because many of the other projects we were up against were much bigger than ours - one was £47 million, and ours was only about £1 million.

"I was shocked and surprised, but very flattered to have won the award."

City council planning officer Paul O'Connor said: "This is an excellent reward for St George's parish and its parish priest Father Paul Fitzpatrick, Panton Sargent architects and the city.

"The scheme has demonstrated that a community facility can be of very high quality, can assist in urban regeneration and conservation enhancement, and can be used by all parts of the community. As more people live, work and use the city centre, the hall will be a valuable community resource."

The revamp took two years from concept to completion, providing a major boost for the Lowesmoor area and the rest of the city, according to Mr O'Connor.

He said: "The city council wishes the scheme all the best for the national awards and hopes that future developments will take the benefits of the St George's Hall to heart to improve the quality of the city's environment and provide benefits to the local community.

"It shows that small projects can a have big impact on the local environment."