York Design Awards is inviting property and design professionals, enthusiasts, and creatives to join an evening of inspiration, networking, and celebration, to mark the launch of its 2024 awards.

The launch event will take place on Thursday 29^th February at St Peters School from 6pm to 9pm, with drinks, canapes, guest speakers and networking. With entries for the awards set to open in due course, the evening is a great opportunity for prospective entrants to learn more about this year’s awards.

Keynote speakers, co-founder of Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Neil Porter and non-executive director of the Office for Place, Esther Kurland will be in attendance to share their knowledge and experiences in the design sector.

Co-founder of Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Neil Porter, who was also a landscape design consultant for York Central, has a wealth of experience in delivering significant public realm projects in the UK and abroad. Esther Kurland, a planner by background who has worked in local authorities for 10 years, is currently a member of the Governments Local Authority Planning Capacity and the Office for Place Transition Board.

Throughout the evening, there will be opportunities for networking, an audience Q&A with the keynote speakers, with drinks and canapes provided.

Ann Reid, Chair of The York Design Awards Committee said: “We are thrilled to be launching our 2024 awards with our annual event at St Peters School.

The awards are a great opportunity for architects, developers, organisations and individuals across York to showcase their brilliant designs and high-quality projects which contribute to the diverse range of properties and developments we have in our city. I look forward to welcoming guests to network, make connections and hear from our brilliant speakers.”

The York Design Awards launch event will take place on St Peters School, Clifton, on 29^th February from 6pm – 9pm. To register for tickets and find out more about the event, visit York Design Awards Eventbrite page: York Design Awards Launch Evening Tickets, Thu 29 Feb 2024 at 18:00 | Eventbrite

Jewson has announced the finalists in its first ever Making Better Homes Awards, recognising the champions in the industry who are working hard to create energy efficient, safe and comfortable homes.

After entries closed at the end of 2023, a panel of judges made up of industry specialists assessed all the nominations with the three highest scoring projects in each category making the shortlist.

Going through to the next round in the Best Building Fabric in a Project category are Draper Studio, SIP Build UK and Orka Construction. In the Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project category, Channel Electrical, Castlethorpe Homes and The Vegan Builder will face the national vote. Finally, competing for the title of Best Sustainable Project of the Year are A Corner of Eden, Greencore Homes and The Holt Group.

The public will now be able to vote online for their favourite shortlisted entrant in each category, with the winners announced at a ceremony later this year.

Sitting on the judging panel were Gavin Crane, CEO for Band of Builders, Nicola De Sousa, Central Director for the Federation of Master Builders, Matthew Handley, Category Innovation Manager at Jewson, and Chris Pearman, Regional Sales Manager at Build Aviator.

Matthew said: “It has been a privilege to judge the first ever Making Better Homes Awards – to say the judges were impressed with the entries is an understatement. Every single project entered demonstrated the steps tradespeople are taking to ensure their customers can enjoy energy efficient properties which will stand the test of time, while making recommendations which also go some way to protecting our planet.

“Judging at this stage of the competition was hard as there were some incredibly inspirational entries, but the public face the hardest step in choosing the winner from each category. It’s a tough one to call and I’m excited to see who the three winners will be.”

Nicola added: “The high calibre of entries to the Making Better Homes Awards is testament to the effort and dedication tradespeople are putting into upskilling themselves in the areas of sustainability and renewables, and proves that as an industry we are making great progress.

“Every entry we saw deserved a place in the shortlist, but the three projects moving onto the next stage in each category really shone and showed us something unique. I can’t wait to see who wins, because they have incredible futures ahead of them.”

Debbie Greaves, founder of The Corner of Eden, said of making the shortlist: “We entered this competition to show that it is possible to bring something amazing to life on a remote island and to overcome the many design, resourcing and logistical challenges along the way. Winning would feel like excellent recognition for our Harris Hideaway project, which we hope will bring so much pleasure to so many people in the future as it continues to blend modern, unique, sustainable design that sits seamlessly in its wild, ancient landscape.”

Chris Warner, Managing Director at Castlethorpe Homes, added: “We entered the awards to help shine a light on the need for more renewable energy being factored into brand new build homes and we feel our entry shows what can be done with great design and thought when building new homes. The use of more renewables in construction is vital if we are going to drive down running costs for the homeowners, especially in these difficult times, embracing the need to show exemplary ways of building but also have a long-term plan to have less impact on our planet.”

The public can now vote online for the winners of the three categories – Best Building Fabric in a Project, Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project, and Best Sustainable Project of the Year.

The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom Installation is pleased to announce that the BiKBBI 2023 Awards programme is now open for entries, with even greater opportunities for recognition following the introduction of two new categories for 2023.

The BiKBBI Installation Awards were launched in 2021 with the purpose of recognising the talent, contributions and achievements of businesses and individuals in the KBB installation sector, and following the success of the inaugural awards programme, which attracted over one hundred entries across ten categories, the 2023 programme will feature twelve categories including:

• Installer of the Year
• Young Installer of the Year
• Apprentice of the Year
• Installation Manager of the Year
• Installation Business of the Year
• Customer Service Champion of the Year
• Community Champion of the Year
• Independent Retailer of the Year
• National Retailer of the Year
• Industry Newcomer 2023 New for 2023
• Environmental Champion of the Year New for 2023
• Special Recognition Award

BiKBBI CEO, Damian Walters commented: “Installation is a vital component of the KBB sector, and never more so than in the skills gap crisis that the industry is now operating in. The efforts of installers, installation managers and installation departments operating within the KBB sector are critical to the success of every business within the industry – manufacturers, distributors, designers and retailers – and therefore its incredibly important that the contributions and efforts of the installation arena of the industry are recognised and celebrated.”

The BiKBBI Awards is free to enter, and businesses and individuals can nominate themselves, their business, a colleague, business associate or a company that they work with via a dedicated online platform. Entries can be submitted from Friday 1 July 2022 and more information on the entry criteria, the submission process and key dates can be found at www.bikbbi.org.uk.

“These awards are only possible thanks to our Awards sponsors and those that support the programme by entering either themselves or someone else. It was great to see so many businesses come together in recognition of KBB installation at the 2022 Awards, and to be joined on stage by many worthy winners on the night. We hope to exceed the number of entries this year and to honour even more examples of excellence in our sector.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News

Specialists in the design and manufacture of classic and contemporary British-made bathroom solutions, Imperial Bathrooms, is delighted to announce that for the second year in a row, it has won the award for ‘Bathroom Design Specialists of the Year’ at the Central England Prestige Awards 2021-22.

The Central England Prestige Awards via Corporate LiveWire has been running for 10 years and recognise the important work that small and independent businesses do at a local level, celebrating the achievements and excellence of those who are the best in their respective markets. The judging panel consists of a carefully handpicked group of experts in their fields, who base their decisions on areas such as service excellence, quality of products, innovative practices, ethical or sustainable methods of working, and consistency in performance.

James Stevenson, Company Director at Imperial Bathrooms explains: “We are truly blown away to receive this awards title not once, but twice consecutively! This past year has been all consuming, with many businesses facing untold challenges within manufacturing and despite these countrywide difficulties, we have always endeavoured to put our customers first and continue to offer the highest level of product design and service available. It is for this reason that we are thrilled to be honoured with this trophy from the Central England Prestige Awards once again.”

Imperial Bathrooms offer a range of traditional and contemporary bathroom designs across a comprehensive collection of premium ceramic ware, furniture, basin stands, brassware, baths, showering and lighting products, which support your customers future design ideas – whatever their personal style!

James continues: “One of the key elements that set us apart from the rest of the marketplace is our passion for exquisite craftsmanship and the preservation of time-honoured production techniques. We’re truly delighted that this, alongside our dedication to being the very best that we can in order to develop the brand and business has shone through, resonated with our customers and most importantly of all, been recognised.”

The winners of the Central England Prestige Awards via Corporate LiveWire 2021/22 will be presented with their trophies at a series of Meet & Greet events, set to be announced in 2022.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News