I was delighted to be invited to join the judging panel this year for the Michelmores property awards.
It was quite a demanding and refreshingly challenging process to conduct a programme of site visits and then debate entries with my colleague judges.
The awards celebrated new development, completed and on the ground.
- £400m of development activity, designed to respond to real-world needs
- 146 organisations
- 35 applicants, championing 31 projects
What struck me through the process was how much investment is being channelled into the South West and how we, as a region, are getting on with delivering it.
I learnt about schemes in other parts of the region and was genuinely impressed with those from all across our sector, from clients to planners, architects and contractors, who are working hard to make a positive difference.
I also noted substantive investment in healthcare and saw creativity, craftsmanship in heritage schemes, as well as vision and energy to breathe new life into key buildings to revitalise tourism and housing.
The Musgrove Park Hospital Surgical Centre in Taunton, winner of the over £10m category, was outstanding – world-class even. If not for the awards, I would never have known about it.
I recorded evidence of design quality, sustainability and social value creation, strengthening places as well as community cohesion and resilience.
Reflecting on the awards, there is no doubt in my mind that here in the South West we have the passion and commitment across the real estate sector to continue to evolve and deliver to meet the needs of our communities.
Often ‘developers’ and investors are portrayed as having negative impacts on places, so I can genuinely say it was a pleasure to see such positive and progressive ambition for sites, schemes and places that has resulted in investment on the ground, making a real difference to people’s lives.
Paul Beanlands, Partner at Michelmores has created an informative “Development Snapshot”, drawing on insights from the projects submitted during this years’ Awards.
Read More here.
As a planner, I do believe the planning profession needs to work as part of an integrated team to marshal and manage scarce investment to enable places to thrive and help communities live well. We must find ways of working more collaboratively that breed further success.
