Developers of a major housing estate of 97 eco-friendly affordable homes have been presented with a top building award.
Equans’ development in Sowerby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, has been given the award from the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) inspectors for being one of the highest quality developments in the North of the UK.
The LABC inspects and provides building control services on new housing schemes across the country. Through regular inspections of the Milburn Grange development in Sowerby, the project was initially shortlisted for a Bricks Award.
Facing competition from more than 300 sites across the North, the team working on the Sowerby project where Equans is constructing 97 eco-friendly new affordable homes on behalf of housing association Broadacres came top of the pile, scooping the Social Housing Award for the North.
Managers say the award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team on site, led by Ken Trueman, Ian Reynolds, and Rich Summers, who they say worked tirelessly to construct the high-quality properties which are being heated using Air Source Heat Pumps.
In the citation for the Bricks Award, the LABC said: “LABC Warranty took note of the high quality of the external finishing on this site, with the Bricks Award report taking care to mention how impressed they were with plots approaching completion.
“The quality of site management was lauded, with specific attention drawn to the effectiveness of on-site processes and site well set-out presentation of individual plots.
“Our reports also took care to mention the installation of heat pumps on the new properties.”
Ian Reynolds, project manager for Equans, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be a winner at Bricks 2022. As a business, Equans is committed to delivering high-quality schemes that we can look back on and be proud of what we’ve achieved and what we’ve delivered for our clients. This award recognises that we’re continuing with our consistent delivery of quality properties.
"Managing the site has had some challenges, but those are vastly outweighed by the positives. The whole team are delivering properties that are absolutely beautiful and complement the local area perfectly, and through installing Air Source Heat Pumps for every home, we’re doing our part to reduce the carbon footprint of the estate for generations to come.”
Helen Fielding, Broadacres’ director of development and investment, said: “This is a perfect example of the kind of high-quality affordable housing scheme Broadacres is renowned for, so we are delighted this has been recognised with this key industry award.
“At Sowerby we have been able to offer a mix of homes to benefit a cross section of local people, from bungalows through to family homes, and this is the first time Broadacres has used renewable energy on a development where a gas connection was available, underlying our commitment to a more sustainable future.”
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