Several Norwich building projects including the memorial gardens are among nine in the county up for prizes in this year's UK property industry awards.

The RICS Awards 2012 consists of four categories, building conservation, regeneration, design and innovation and community benefit.

Norwich's memorial garden was repaired, revamped and refurbished in a �2.6m restoration project before reopening last March, and is up for an award in the building conservation category.

The Norwich Open Youth Centre in Bank Plain is up for an award in the community benefit category along with the Whitlingham quarry, outside Norwich.

Caro Court in St Benedicts Street, Norwich is up for two categories, design and innovation and regeneration, while Peter's Bridge, the new pedestrian bridge over the river Wensum in Norwich, and the Haven, a house in Horning on the Norfolk Broads, are competing in the design and innovation category.

The nine Norfolk projects up for the awards also include Low House Barn in Hales Green, near Loddon, in the building conservation category, and the Old Art College in Great Yarmouth, in the regeneration category.

Altogether, 33 projects from across the East of England region will compete for the most prestigious prize in the UK property industry, the RICS Awards 2012.

Representing a full spectrum of organisations and projects worldwide, 477 entrants were received nationally for this year's RICS Awards - a 40pc increase on last year.

Building projects which enter the RICS Awards vary from small, innovative schemes which might have benefited from the vision and persistence of one person, to multi-million pound budget, globally recognised developments.

The Norfolk projects will first compete in a regional heat, the RICS East of England Awards and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner at Chilford Hall Vineyard in Cambridgeshire on Thursday, May 10. Winners from the regional heat will then form the shortlist for the national grand final awards in London in October.

Stephen Boniface, lead judge for the RICS East of England Awards, said: 'The RICS Awards recognise exceptional contribution to conservation and enhancement of our built and natural environment. With a record number of national entries, the regional judges are going to be faced with assessing the most hotly contested competition ever and this year's entries demonstrate the high standard of work undertaken by surveyors and other property professionals in the East of England. I am personally very excited about judging all of the projects over the coming weeks.'

Have you got a story for the Evening News? Call reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk.