JACK WHITEHALL, GABBY LOGAN & LAWRENCE DALLAGLIO JOINED OVER 1700 OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE NEW HOMES INDUSTRY AT THE 37th ANNUAL WHATHOUSE? AWARDS

THE GREAT AND THE GOOD OF THE NEW HOMES INDUSTRY GATHERED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE, DIVERSITY AND THE INDUSTRY PAY GAP REDROW HOMES TOOK HOME THE HOUSEBUILDER OF THE YEAR ACCOLADE

Friday 16 November: On Friday the biggest names in the UK housebuilding industry gathered to celebrate the very best in new homes development, build and design at the 37th annual WhatHouse? Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Comedian Jack Whitehall presented the awards for the second year.
Jack recalled his fury about being ‘gazundered’, as the property world calls it –when the buyer unfairly reduces the asking price just before the sale. He did get revenge by convincing him that the property was haunted.

The most prestigious awards in the new homes industry saw Redrow Homes take away the biggest prize in British housebuilding: Housebuilder of the year 2018, rewarded for its outstanding achievements over the last year (building nearly 6,000 homes across England and Wales, reporting record revenues of £1.92bn and record pre-tax profits of £380m, up 21% on 2017) in addition to its outstanding industry engagement and its recent landmark of selling its 100,000th new home.

London Square, the London based developer was the most awarded company picking up six awards in six different categories and including Best Interior Design and Best Mixed Use Development. Both its Star & Garter renovation in Richmond and the development of its Streatham Hill site were equally awarded in three categories each.

Rupert Bates, Editorial Director of WhatHouse? Digital and Show House Magazine said: “These awards showcase the best of the best new housebuilding in the UK each year and celebrate the industry’s commitment to ‘raising the bar’ year on year. We may live in uncertain times but it’s important to recognise how much we have achieved since we last met and talk about how we can overcome the obstacles in our way to sustaining a long term, profitable future for our industry.”

At the awards Guest presenter Gabby Logan spoke to the room about the gender ‘gap’ in construction and reflected on her own experience in sports broadcasting. To give some context, recent RICS research has shown that in construction nearly a third of women said sexism holds them back from pursuing senior roles whilst 38 per cent of men said their skills are better suited to the sector than women.
The Awards also come as the Government announced the establishment of the ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful’ commission. Designed to help communities welcome new developments the commission will take shape over the next few months. It was another hot topic of discussion at the awards.

For the housebuilders at the event, they broadly welcomed the announcement with Rupert Bates adding “Anything that helps us lessen the divide between ‘them’ and ‘us’ when it comes to dealing with planners and local communities must be broadly welcomed.”

This year 21 awards were presented to over 60 winners. Former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio accepted a £10,000 donation from the Awards for the Dallaglio RugbyWorks charity which works with teenagers not in mainstream education towards furthering their training or education.

THE AWARDS AND WINNERS:
HOUSEBUILDER OF THE YEAR: REDROW
Winning Housebuilder of the Year 2018 and Best Large Housebuilder of the Year (Gold) caps a remarkable year for Redrow. Founder Steve Morgan is retiring next March after 44 years with the business he started in 1974. 2018 has been a record breaking year for the FTSE 250 company with it building 6000 new homes across England and Wales; achieving record revenues of £1.92bn and recording pre-tax profits of £380m, up 21% on 2017. 15 English and Welsh regions currently have Redrow housing in planning over 130 different sites.

It won the accolade based on the overall quality of its homes and the business, but also its ongoing commitment to training and recruitment. 15% of Redrow’s workforce are trainees and it has been a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer for five successive years. Its partnerships with Liverpool John Moores University and Coleg Cambria have established a three-year housebuilding degree there.
Avant Homes won Silver in the Best Large Housebuilder of the Year category with Places for People scooping Bronze.

BEST MEDIUM HOUSEBUILDER 2018 (developments between 100 and 1000 homes), Gold, has been awarded to Hill. Led by Chief Executive Andy Hill it has been building award winning homes since 1999. Their trailblazing approach to construction has included initiatives such as A Women’s Innovation Forum which aims to encourage openness and drive performance.
Spitfire Bespoke Homes won Silver with William Davis Homes and Churchill Retirement Living taking Bronze.

BEST SMALL HOUSEBUILDER 2018
Fleur Developments has been recognised as Best Small Housebuilder 2018, Gold winner (for developers building less than 100 homes). Based and building in North Norfolk, their homes are known for their design credentials and attention to detail. Clay roof pantiles, brick and flint elevations and timber clad windows are features of their work and they take pride in their craftsmanship featured in individual projects such as Seaglass in Brancaster Staithe. Here local materials, oak staircases and hand cut bricks brought a refreshing attention to detail to this brand new house.
Duchy Homes won Silver in this category and Hayfield Homes and Vanderbilt picked up Bronze.
BEST HOUSE 2018

Winning ‘Best House’ this year is Salford’s ‘Urban Splash Town House’. A three storey 1,500ft² modular terraced home that was first launched in Manchester in 2016, the same ‘house’ has now been built at other sites in Salford, Birmingham and Newcastle. Offering a customisable, flexible and ultimately affordable way to build houses, Urban Splash impressed judges with its focus on factory automation which holds great promise for the future.

BEST LUXURY HOUSE AND BEST LUXURY DEVELOPMENTLuxury new developments are part of a diverse housebuilding national picture and the renovation in Richmond, London of the ‘Star and Garter’ by London Square has won Best Luxury House, Best Interior Design and Best Luxury Development at today’s awards making it the most awarded developer this year with six awards in six different categories.
Now Grade II listed, it was originally built in the early 1920s for disabled soldiers returning from the First World War and was opened by Queen Mary in 1924. London Square, the developers of the building, with architects Paul Davis + Partners, have transformed the building into 86 homes which now feature underground parking, restored original brickwork, luxury facilities including a gym and indoor pool.
London Square have also secured additional awards success with their residential development at Streatham Hill in London, SW2, a mixed- use, one-hectare development comprising 254 studio, one, two, three and four bedroom apartments built around a large courtyard. Keeping the Art Deco existing façade from the original Gaumont Palace cinema and being considerate of the scheme’s residential streets that surround it were two reasons why their work has won Best Mixed Use Development 2018.
Silver in this category was awarded to Taylor Wimpey Central London for their work on the The Music Box at Southwark, London SE1 whilst the Bronze award went to Filey Group and Kingsbury for their work on the development at 92-94 Stamford Hill, London N16.

Appendix of all award winners Award Winner Category
Housebuilder of the Year 2018
Redrow
Best Large Housebuilder
Redrow
Gold
Avant Homes
Silver
Places for People
Bronze
Best Medium Housebuilder
Hill
Gold
Spitfire Bespoke Homes
Silver
William Davis Homes
Bronze
Best Small Housebuilder
Fleur Developments
Gold
Duchy Homes
Silver
Hayfield Homes
Bronze
Vanderbilt Homes
Bronze
Housing Association of the Year
Southern Housing Group
Gold
The Hyde Group
Silver
A2 Dominion
Bronze
Best Build to Rent Project
Tipi Wembley Park, London HA9. Quintain
Gold
Porters Edge at Water Yards, Rotherhithe, London SE16. Folio London
Silver
Best Starter Home Scheme
Alton Court at Copley, Hanwell, London W7. Broadway Living
Gold
Le Bon Court, Harrow on the Hill, London HA1. Network Homes
Silver
Bow River Village, Bow, London E3. Southern Housing Group
Bronze
Best House
Town House, Salford, Manchester. Urban Splash
Gold
Encore, Meaux Rise, Kingswood, Hull. Persona by Home Group
Silver
Townhouse, Cambium, Southfields, London SW19.
Lendlease
Bronze
The Avenue House, Woodside Square, Muswell Hill, London N10. Hill and Hanover
Bronze
Best Apartment Scheme
Streatham Hill, London SW2. London Square
Gold
Queen’s Wharf, Hammersmith, London W6. Mount Anvil and A2 Dominion
Silver
Blackfriars Circus, London, SE1. Barratt London
Bronze
Best Luxury House
The East Wing at the Star and Garter, Richmond London TW10. London Square
Gold
Manor Barn, Littlebourne, Kent. Quinn Estates
Silver
Pemberley House, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Cheshire. PH Property Holdings
Bronze
Best Renovation
The Playfair at Donaldson’s, Edinburgh. City & Country
Gold
Dudin Brown at Hampstead Manor, Hampstead, London NW3. Mount Anvil
Silver
King Edward VII Estate, Midhurst, West Sussex. City & Country. City & Country
Bronze
Eagle House, Wimbledon, London SW19. Octagon Developments
Bronze
Best Development
Clevedon Hall Estate, Clevedon, Somerset. Spitfire Bespoke Homes
Gold
Bayford Mews, Hackney, London E8. Nest East.
Silver
Woodside Square, Muswell Hill, London N10. Hill and Hanover
Silver
Streatham Hill, London SW2. London Square
Bronze
Best Partnership Scheme
Derwenthorpe, York. David Wilson Homes & Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust
Gold
Chapel Riverside, Southampton. Inland Homes and Southampton City Council
Silver
Best Luxury Development
The Star and Garter, Richmond, London TW10. London Square.
Gold
Chelsea Waterfront, London SW10. Hutchison Property Group
Silver
Hampstead Manor, London NW3. Mount Anvil
Silver
Best Mixed Use Development
Streatham Hill, London SW2. London Square
Gold
The Music Box, Southwark, London SE1. Taylor Wimpey Central London
Silver
92-94 Stamford Hill, London N16. Filey Group and Kingsbury
Bronze
Best Retirement Development
Audley Redwood, Bristol. Audley Villages
Gold
The Farthings, Leatherhead, Surrey. Beechcroft
Silver
Quayside, Totnes, Devon. Guinness Homes
Bronze
Parkland Place, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. McCarthy & Stone
Bronze
Best Sustainable Development
Roborough Eco Homes, Bickleigh, Plymouth.
Zero C
Gold
Kidbrooke Village Urban Houses, Blackheath Quarter at Kidbrooke Village, London SE3. Berkeley Homes, East Thames
Silver
Best Regeneration Scheme
Barnes Village, Cheadle, Greater Manchester. Henley Homes
Gold
Kidbrooke Village, Kidbrooke, London SE3. Berkeley Homes East Thames
Silver
Cofton Grange, Cofton Hackett nr Longbridge, Birmingham. St Modwen Homes
Bronze
Acton Gardens, Acton, London W3. Countryside and L&Q
Bronze
Best Interior Design
The East Wing at The Star & Garter, Richmond, London TW10. London Square
Gold
The Select Ten at Two Fifty One, Southwark, London SE1. Oakmayne
Silver
The Penthouse at The Birchwood, Ealing, London W5. Fusion
Bronze
Micro Apartment at Innova Apartments, Croydon, London CR0. Inspired Homes
Bronze
Best Exterior Design
Hoxton Press, Hoxton, London N1. Anthology
Gold
VI Castle Lane, Victoria, London SW1. Sons & Co
Silver
Carpenters Wharf, Fish Island, Hackney Wick, London E3. Anderson Group
Bronze
Best Public Realm
Great Kneighton, Trumpington, Cambridge. Countryside Properties
Gold
Tadpole Garden Village, Swindon, Wiltshire. Crest Nicholson Strategic Projects
Silver
Ninewells, Cambridge. Hill and Bushmead Homes
Bronze
Colindale Gardens, London NW9. Redrow Homes
Bronze
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