Hunt is on for best of region’s property projects

A FOUR-month search to find Yorkshire and Humber’s most inspirational built projects is now on following the opening of entries for the 2017 RICS Awards, Yorkshire & Humber.

The annual awards celebrate the region’s top initiatives and developments – in land, property, construction and the environment – that provide significant value to the communities they serve. Every year the awards attract hundreds of entries from all over Yorkshire and Humber, including small scale pioneering schemes, and large multi-million pound developments.

Chair of the RICS Awards, Yorkshire & Humber judging panel, Rob Hindle of White Hindle & Partners, said: “Many outstanding property schemes have recently completed, or are due to complete soon in our region, which fully deserve the recognition that winning an RICS Award can bring. So we hope our 2017 RICS Awards, Yorkshire & Humber will attract a record number of quality nominations.”

There are eight categories to enter in which local property professionals must demonstrate how they have used their skills to develop, regenerate and conserve the environment in which we live and work. These are: Building Conservation, Commercial property, Community Benefit, Design through Innovation, Infrastructure, Regeneration, Residential, and Tourism & Leisure.

There is also an overall ‘Project of the Year title’ which is awarded to the entry that demonstrates outstanding best practice and an exemplary commitment to adding value to its local area. This year, the title went to Blackburn Meadows Biomass facility in Sheffield – which also won the Infrastructure award – for its use of cutting edge technology to power and heat the local community, which has significantly reduced the region’s carbon emissions.
 
All category winners go on to compete against other regional winners at the national RICS Awards Grand Final, for the chance to be crowned the overall UK winner in their respective category.

The following winners from the 2016 RICS Awards, North East will compete in this year’s RICS Awards Grand Final on 14 October at The London Hilton:  
Leeds City College Print Works: Printhall 1B, Leeds (Building Conservation), 6 Wellington Place, Leeds (Commercial property), St Peter’s Church, Harrogate (Community Benefit), The Diamond, Sheffield (Design through Innovation), Blackburn Meadows Biomass, Sheffield (Infrastructure), The Hawthornes @ Amy Johnson, Hull (Regeneration), Little Kelham, Sheffield (Residential property),Talbot Yard Food Court, Malton (Tourism & Leisure).