A village centre is in the running for a prestigious award recognising outstanding facilities for the community to use.

The Pennoyer Centre at Pulham St Mary has been shortlisted in the Community Benefit category at the 2011 Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors National Awards.

Trustee Simon Jamieson said: 'With other finalists such as the Roman Baths Development in Bath and Northumbria University's new �30m sports facility, it's clear we're competing in a very prestigious contest.

'It's a wonderful recognition of this small community's achievement to have been awarded the East of England title; to win the national title would be incredible.'

The centre was officially opened last year by Look East weather presenter Julie Reinger and her husband, BBC Radio Norfolk breakfast DJ Chris Goreham on the site of the derelict former Pennoyers School.

The grand opening was the fruition of a �1.6m project to convert the 15th century guild chapel and Victorian school extension into a community, heritage and business centre.

The Pennoyer Centre is one of 13 regional winners shortlisted for the national final.

Judges are looking for projects that have a strong interaction with the community throughout the process from start to finish and have assessed each project on feedback from the community, how it enhanced the local landscape and the variety of people in the community that benefit from the project.

The Grand Final is being held at the Savoy Hotel in London on October 21.