Mid Devon District Council’s social housing development on the edge of Palmerston Park has been shortlisted for two awards run by the LABC.

The development, known as Turner Rise, has been shortlisted in the Best Small New Housing Development and Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development categories, in the South West LABC Building Excellence Awards.

LABC (Local Authority Building Control), represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales and works with home owners, architects and builders to ensure buildings are safe and meet all the standards set by the Building Regulations. The LABC has a network of more than 3,700 professional surveyors and also advise on public safety and consumer protection.

Turner Rise, which is named after the late Honorary Alderman Mary Turner, is a social housing scheme which consists of 26 properties, made up of four 1 bedroom apartments, two 1 bedroom homes, ten 2 bedrooms homes, eight 3 bedroom homes and two 4 bedrooms properties. It was completed in September 2019 and all homes were quickly allocated.

The development is on the site of a disused garage area and has been linked to the existing Palmerston Park homes through new pedestrian routes and landscaping. All the homes have dedicated cycle storage areas and have been built in a staggered formation across the site way to ensure the buildings blend in with the steep topography of the area, without creating a dominant effect on the skyline.

Cllr Simon Clist, Cabinet Member for Housing said:

“The homes at Turner Rise have been built to a great standard and with a real focus on energy efficiency, demonstrating Mid Devon’s commitment to providing high-quality social housing throughout the district, which also focuses on sustainability of our assets. Recognition from industry experts is always welcome and this news will undoubtedly give our team a great boost, and is recognition they fully deserve.”

Andy Busby, Group Manager for Property Services, said:

“The news that Turner Rise has been shortlisted for two awards is particularly satisfying given the extensive work which was put into securing delivery of the project. The end result is a development of homes for our community which we are very proud of.”

The development was a joint-funded project between the Council and Homes England, and has helped towards meeting the current housing need identified in the town. The Council’s Corporate Property and Asset Team with employer’s agent Faithful & Gould, were the Client for the development and Enelco (trading as EBC) were the Principal contractor completing this design and build project.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a digital ceremony on September 1, 2020.