The 20th Michelmores Property Awards were held on Thursday 22 June 2023 with a glittering awards ceremony and gala dinner at Sandy Park Conference Centre in Exeter. The evening was hosted by journalist and former breakfast television presenter, Louise Minchin, and celebrated outstanding property and construction projects throughout the South West across ten categories.
Located in Bristol, Brabazon secured the award for Residential Project of the Year (36 homes and over). Brabazon is the largest area of brownfield land in the South West, located less than five miles from Bristol City Centre. The development demonstrates outstanding quality and design that runs through both the development itself and the landscaping. Emphasis has been placed on maximising light and open spaces, and the project features impressive sustainable features such as solar panels and EV charging points.
St. Sidwell’s Point Leisure Centre in Exeter took home the prestigious Building of the Year award as well as the prize for Leisure and Tourism Project of the Year. The judges were impressed with the sustainable design, expertise and innovation that has gone into this project. St. Sidwell’s is the UK’s first leisure centre built to the Passivhaus standard.
Just outside of Exeter in Lympstone, Charles Court scooped up the award for Residential Project of the Year (35 homes and under). A neighbourhood of ten new homes created alongside a village green area with pond and public walkways, Charles Court is an exemplary sustainable development which sensitively compliments the local setting.
The winner of the Project of the Year (under £5m) category was Plymouth-based BLOCK. A collaborative co-working space located at the iconic Royal William Yard and a first of its kind for the city, BLOCK incorporates beautiful Georgian features that have been sensitively restored. The innovative new business concept has transformed a Grade 1 listed building into an attractive workspace. The building design is also flexible, allowing the space to be adapted for different uses.
The Education Project of the Year category was awarded to The High School Leckhampton, located in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. The project has overcome significant planning challenges to respond to a genuine need within the local community. The school demonstrates high quality architecture and design, fitting seamlessly into its natural surroundings.
This year, the winner of the John Laurence Special Contribution award went to former Chief Executive and Growth Director of Exeter City Council, Karime Hassan, MBE. Karime has made a significant contribution to the city of Exeter over many years, working tirelessly to transform Exeter into a knowledge economy, and internationally recognised city of culture. He is a passionate advocate of the role of town and county planning and public and private partnerships, as well as supporting the city in its transition to a low carbon future.
Of this year’s Awards, Emma Honey, Head of Property at Michelmores said:
“We are delighted to celebrate 20 years of the Michelmores Property Awards, showcasing outstanding property and construction projects and the teams involved in bringing them to life.
“Our panel of judges deliberated for many hours to select the very best projects in each category and have commended the continued high standard of projects this year. My congratulations to all of this year’s winners.”
The winners in full:
The winner of the Project of the Year (under £5m) category was Plymouth-based BLOCK. A collaborative co-working space located at the iconic Royal William Yard and a first of its kind for the city, BLOCK incorporates beautiful Georgian features that have been sensitively restored. The innovative new business concept has transformed a Grade 1 listed building into an attractive workspace. The building design is also flexible, allowing the space to be adapted for different uses.
Edwards Court won the award for Project of the Year (over £5m). A 53-flat scheme built by Exeter City Council, Edwards Court is one of the most well-designed buildings of its type. The Court combines accommodation with care and support services for people aged 55 and over and has incorporated new design thinking that aligns better with the requirements of elderly life, placing strong focus on community and companionship, as well as being the first UK healthcare facility built to Passivehaus standards.
The Education Project of the Year category was awarded to The High School Leckhampton, located in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. The project has overcome significant planning challenges to respond to a genuine need within the local community. The school demonstrates high quality architecture and design, fitting seamlessly into its natural surroundings. It contains two wings of teaching accommodation surrounding an external courtyard, with state-of-the-art facilities including six science labs, ten ICT suites, a music suite, drama studio and 400-seat auditorium with bleacher seating.
St. Sidwell’s Point Leisure Centre in Exeter took home the prestigious Building of the Year award as well as the prize for Leisure and Tourism Project of the year. The judges were exceedingly impressed with the sustainable design, expertise and innovation that has gone into this project. St. Sidwell’s is successful not only for being a visually outstanding addition to the community with unrivalled customer experience, but also for being the UK’s first leisure centre built to the Passivhaus standard.
The Hall for Cornwall in Truro won the Heritage Project of the Year award for 2023. The complex regeneration and retrofitting of one of Cornwall’s primary cultural and historical assets was realised when the Hall for Cornwall reopened in October 2021. The Hall has been reimagined into a major new theatre space, showcasing the forward-thinking approach to the performing and creative arts. The project team’s specialist knowledge in heritage, conservation and regenerative works shines through.
Millfields took home the coveted award for Masterplanning for the Future. Millfields is a flagship project which links the ferry port to the city of Plymouth, reflecting the area back to its historical importance. Comprising a number of high-quality interrelated buildings and open spaces that will form a new and dynamic neighbourhood focus for the area, Millfields is a thoughtfully considered project, that the community actively engaged with and supported throughout.
Brabazon bagged the award for Residential Project of the Year (36 homes and over). Brabazon is the largest area of brownfield land in the South West, located less than 5 miles from Bristol City Centre. The development demonstrates outstanding quality and design that runs through both the development itself and the landscaping. Emphasis has been placed on maximising light and open spaces, and the project features impressive sustainable features such as solar panels and EV charging points.
Just outside of Exeter in Lympstone, Charles Court scooped up the award for Residential Project of the Year (35 homes and under). A neighbourhood of ten new homes created alongside a village green area with pond and public walkways, Charles Court is an exemplary sustainable development which sensitively compliments the local vernacular and church setting. This proposal was designed with input from to the local residents and the largely landscaped site invites the local community in to use the green amenity space and includes important pedestrian links.
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