East Midlands fbe Awards 2017 launched

2016 fbe awards winner GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory

Nominations are now being invited for the annual East Midlands fbe Awards which recognise and reward the teams behind some of the best construction projects in the region.

Returning for a second year is the Best Rising Star category, which will shine the light on the construction and development sector’s most promising young professionals.

Entries for the awards are expected from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. 

The categories include Regeneration, Residential, and Non-Residential developments, along with Rising Star of the Year. The winners of the first three categories will automatically form the shortlist for the Overall East Midlands Scheme & Team Award.

Free to enter, the awards will be presented at an event run by the East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment) on 12th October 2017 at the City Rooms in Leicester. Around 150 professionals from the construction, development and property sector in the region are expected to attend the ceremony, which last year sold out in advance.

“The East Midlands fbe Chairman’s Dinner & Awards night is a popular date on the calendar of the region’s construction sector,” said Eddie Mewies, regional chairman of the East Midlands fbe and MD of M-EC Consulting Development Engineers.

“The awards are the chance to recognise and celebrate some of the region’s top projects, as well as the teams who are behind them. We are pleased that once again we will have a category for the Best Rising Star, so that we can shine a light on those young people who are showing outstanding achievements in their field and celebrate the next generation of leaders and influencers in the East Midlands construction sector.”

As well as entries now being open, sponsorship opportunities are also available for the event.

Details about the awards and entry forms, as well as sponsorship opportunities and tickets for the awards ceremony, are available from http://www.fbeonline.co.uk/east-midlands/events/fbe-east-midlands-chairmans-dinner-and-awards-2017.htm or by contacting Mary Daw on 07883 033552.

The deadline for award nominations is Friday 1^st September 2017.

Last year’s overall winner was the GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratories for Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, a building unique in the UK in its design and focus on ‘green chemistry’, which was nominated by Morgan Sindall.

The fbe is a national organisation, with branches across the UK and is the longest established networking group for the property, development and construction industries. As well as running the annual awards scheme, the East Midlands branch also organises a number of social and other events. The East Midlands branch covers Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Winners announced for East Midlands fbe Awards 2015

A small Derbyshire housing scheme has been crowned as the overall project of the year at the East Midlands fbe Awards 2015.

Category award winners also included the refurbishment and regeneration of the Malt Cross in Nottingham and the development of a new HQ for the Rutland Agricultural Society and new society and clubhouses for Oakham Rugby Club and Royce Rovers Football Club.

At a sell-out ceremony staged at the City Rooms in Leicester, around 150 people from the region's construction sector gathered to hear about the schemes and the teams behind this year’s winning projects.

The overall winner was a scheme of six houses and two bungalows at Hannah Bowman Way in Youlgrave, Derbyshire, developed by emh group and built by Lindum Construction for Peak District Rural Housing Association and Youlgrave Community Trust. Emh group and Lindum Group jointly nominated the project. Other members of the team involved in the development of the mix of affordable rent and shared ownership homes with priority for local people were architect David Lewis Associates, structural engineer HSP Consulting and Low Carbon Box.

The project, which had earlier taken the honours in the residential category, lies in the Peak District village of Youlgrave and marked the culmination of many years of work. The Code for Sustainable Homes level 4 homes were provided as a result of a local partnership between emh group, Peak District Rural Housing Association and Youlgrave Community Land Trust, with support from Derbyshire Dales District Council, with the design developed in close consultation with the Peak District National Park Authority.

Judges said: “We found it a difficult decision to pick the overall winner, as there were three excellent section winners, of varying scale and type. However, we thought that the Youlgrave project ticked so many boxes in terms of development, design, community engagement and team work, and we felt it was a very deserving winner of the East Midlands fbe Project of the Year.

“This scheme took a considerable time to accomplish and was obviously a battle on many fronts, not least in terms of planning, where a ‘village green’ application had to be overcome, delaying matters by over 18 months, due to there being objectors in the local community. Achieving Code for Sustainable Homes level 4 including all the enhanced ecology is quite an achievement given a tight budget, and overall the project achieves a very sensitive and socially valuable outcome, produced to an excellent quality standard of construction, all of which will have taken a significant effort to achieve."

The winner of the regeneration category was The Malt Cross, Nottingham - the refurbishment of Nottingham’s only surviving Victorian music hall, built in 1877, and one of relatively few in the country. It was undertaken by the Malt Cross Charitable Trust, and nominated by William Saunders Partnership, who were the architect and structural engineer for the project. Other team members were contractor Taylor Pearson the contractor and EP Consulting, who handled the M & E design.

The project brought to life derelict floors and uncovered heritage features that had lain hidden from public view and reconnected the previously sub divided building back into one entity. The Malt Cross Music Hall is occupied by a social enterprise café bar. It is also an entertainment and arts venue which supports local talent. In addition it houses the Malt Cross Trust’s outreach services, including Street Pastors and Safe Space.

A new HQ for the Rutland Agricultural Society and new society and clubhouses for Oakham Rugby Club and Royce Rovers Football Club won the non-residential scheme category. Submitted by developer and main contractor DW Hicks, other members of the team were LE1 architects, structural engineer Diamond Wood & Shaw and MDA Consulting.

The scheme created a new-build exhibition/function space and offices for the Rutland Agricultural Society (RAS) with an attached clubhouse and changing rooms for Oakham Rugby Club. A detached pavilion provides separate changing facilities for Royce Rangers Football Club.

Jef Todd, regional chairman of the East Midlands fbe, said: “We had a record-breaking number of submissions entered for this year’s awards, which was great. The diversity of the finalists and the winners illustrates the tremendous variety of top quality construction projects that are undertaken in the region. I’d like to thank everyone who entered and congratulate the winners and the teams behind the schemes.”

Compèred by former BBC East Midlands political editor John Hess, the awards were sponsored by construction recruitment specialist Hays Recruitment, civil engineering, building and M&E contractor North Midland Construction, engineering and environmental consultants M-EC Consulting Development Engineers, DW Hicks Building Co Ltd and chartered accountants and business advisers Duncan & Toplis. Civil and structural engineering company BSP Consulting sponsored the evening’s drinks reception.

The East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment), a property, development and construction professionals' group, supported the East Midlands NSPCC 'now I know' Appeal at the event, which had finalists from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Search begins for East Midlands fbe Awards winners 2015

Entries are now being invited for an awards scheme that highlights some of the best construction schemes across the East Midlands. 

The East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment) will be staging its annual awards event on 15^th October 2015 at the City Rooms in Leicester. Around 120 professionals from the construction, development and property sector in the East Midlands are expected to attend the East Midlands fbe’s sixth annual awards ceremony and dinner. 

MC for the evening will be BBC East Midlands political editor John Hess. 

Now the hunt has begun for worthy winners of the awards, which recognise and reward the scheme and the whole team behind it. 

Last year’s overall winner was The King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, which also took the best Non-Residential Award. Best Refurbishment and Regeneration Award went to Castleward in Derby, which is being developed by Compendium Living. St James Gate, Anstey, in Leicestershire, received the Best Residential Award. 

This year the awards will feature the same three categories – Non-Residential, Residential, and Refurbishment and Regeneration. They are free to enter and are open to any schemes in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire that have been completed between October 2014 and September 2015.  Nominations can be made by anyone involved in the scheme, not just members of the fbe. 

The deadline for nominations is Friday 21^st August 2015. Entries will be judged by a select panel of construction professionals. 

East Midlands fbe regional chairman Jef Todd, development director at civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting, said: “Each year it becomes more difficult for the judges to choose the winners, which illustrates the very high standard of development in schemes over many sectors in the East Midlands, and we are looking forward to seeing the nominations that are put forward this year.” 

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the event are also now available by visiting http://www.fbeonline.co.uk/east-midlands/events/fbe-east-midlands-chairmans-dinner-and-awards-2015.htm 

The fbe is a national organisation, with branches across the UK and is the longest established networking group for the property, development and construction industries. Initially established in the East Midlands, as well as running the annual awards scheme, the organisation also organises a number of social and other events. It covers Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. 

For more information about the fbe, the branch and to download a nomination form visit www.fbeonline.co.uk. Details about October’s awards night are in the events section.

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk