The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2014 - Issue 36 | Page 19

event news

ROYAL VISITOR FOR RWAS WINTER FAIR
The Fair, considered to be one of the
finest prime stock shows in Europe, will
be held on 1 and 2 December 2014 at the
Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd,
Builth Wells.
The Fair also hosts a huge variety of
different classes and competitions, with
something for everyone.

HRH the Princess Royal will be
visiting the 25th Royal Welsh Winter
Fair on Tuesday 2 December, the
second day of the event which this
year celebrates its silver jubilee.
This will be only the second royal visit to
the Winter Fair after HRH the Prince of
Wales opened the event in 2001, when
most agricultural shows were cancelled
owing to the foot and mouth outbreak.

www.rwas.co.uk

Tom Heap to support
the FAB awards
The 2015 FAB awards by RIDBA will
be hosted by TV and radio presenter
Tom Heap.
RIDBA (the Rural and Industrial Design
and Building Association) has made two
changes to its FAB (Farm and Agricultural
Buildings) awards for 2015.
The entry criteria period for completed
working buildings has been extended
from January 2013 to December 2014 to
give potential entrants two whole years’
worth of projects to consider relevant for
the awards.
And the host for the second awards
(the first was Kate Humble) is Tom Heap,
TV presenter of Countryfile and Animal
24:7 and of Costing the Earth on BBC
Radio 4. Tom is also a regular reporter for
Panorama.
The 2015 awards have also been
extended to include farm buildings of
different sizes and for non-agricultural use
as well as light industrial buildings.

As well as an overall first,
second and third prize there
will now also be awards for
working farm buildings below
and above 250m2, buildings
changed for diversification,
equestrian buildings and the
most unusual building.
The FAB awards aim to
recognise and rewards contractors and
clients who have taken the time and effort
to ensure their new farm buildings are
sympathetic to and even complement the
local landscape, while ensuring they are
fit for purpose and have been designed
with sustainability in mind.
Entries in all categories are judged
on three criteria, with 50% of the
marks being allocated for aesthetics/
design, 30% for functionality/fit for
purpose, and 20% for sustainability. The
buildings must be supplied by a RIDBA
corporate member, typically a contractor

or fabricator of steel or timber framed
buildings.
Winne