Help Northampton student Almas win £15,000 prize to make dilapidated Racecourse building masterplan a reality

Almas' design for an ecology centre on the Racecourse could become a reality- - but it needs your help.

A student's ambitious plan to breathe new life into a dilapidated storage building on a Northampton park and build a new town landmark needs your help.

Almas Meghani already caught the eye of some of the country's top architects earlier this year when she won a Royal Society of Arts design award for vision for the Racecourse.Now, her award-winning idea is in the running for a £15,000 prize to make her plans come true - and she needs her town's help.

Almas' vision for the dilapidated former armoury at the north end of the park would see the unloved storage building torn down and replaced with a community kitchen and ecology centre, which would bring people of all ages together to build new skills, participate in allotment gardening and learn about healthy eating.

After winning the Royal Society of Arts Student Design Award in July, Almas has entered her plans into the TATA Pitch Varisty Award - a competition for students to win a grand prize of £15,000 and pitch for more help to make their ideas a reality.

Now, there is a people's vote open to decide who wins the award - which means Northampton can help Almas build her landmark eco-centre for the Racecourse.

However, voting ends midnight tomorrow (Friday, October 2). To vote, visiting the NACUE website here.The TATA Pitch Varsity Award is sponsored by the National Association of College & University Entrepreneurs.

The white-rendered building on the Racecourse, which dates back to the early 19th Century and was used as an armoury during the Second World War, currently stores equipment used for the park’s upkeep.