Duchy of Cornwall scheme scoops national award
The Duchy of Cornwall’s Kew An Lergh development in Nansledan has scooped a national award having been praised by the judges as a “small project with a big social impact”.
Kew An Lergh (the former field name meaning “Way Close” in Cornish), is a cluster of three arts and crafts-style buildings and marks the Duchy’s first directly delivered commercial development in Nansledan.
The Duchy played the pivotal construction management role in delivering the project through the COVID-19 pandemic, assembling a team from the skilled local workforce to protect jobs and complete the project on time and budget.
Kew An Lergh was designed by Nansledan’s masterplanning architects ADAM Architecture who put the project forward for the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) UK Awards earlier this year. In July it was shortlisted among 13 entries nationwide vying to win the fiercely contested Commercial Development category.
The judges said: “Whilst a relatively small-scale development, the impact this scheme has had on its locality, commercial environment and community cannot be overstated. Attracting creative and traditional commercial uses together with the much-needed provision of a nursery the scheme brings vitality to this part of the UK. The design enhances the local area and is becoming a focal point for the community while embracing sustainable principles including the enhancement of biodiversity in the development.”
Ben Murphy, estate director for the Duchy of Cornwall, said: “We are thrilled that Kew An Lergh has triumphed in such a competitive field. The judges’ recognition of the social value that community-led regeneration can bring is especially rewarding. This project has been a true collaboration, involving our construction team, local suppliers, architects, planners, and tenants, all working together to achieve the best possible outcome.
“Kew An Lergh has quickly become a vibrant home to an exciting and eclectic mix of businesses, as well as a real community hub.”
Kew An Lergh features a nursery school and two neighbouring buildings of two and three storeys, housing shops and offices around a landscaped central square.
The development is home to a range of businesses including Naturally Learning nursery, vintage clothing store Love of Lemons, café and deli Sabzi, The Loft yoga studio, Linggard and Thomas Accountants, Solve Web Media, television production company Beagle Media, and Jackson’s wine bar. The remaining unit is soon to be transformed into a community hub by the Nansledan Community Association, to be hired out by a range of creative groups and clubs running social activities and support programmes.
