Dartmoor National Park revealed as winner of Heritage Project category

The winners of the RICS Awards 2024 in the South West have been revealed and a Dartmoor National Park building project is on the list.

The winning projects, which were announced at the regional ceremony in Delta Hotels by Marriott in Bristol City Centre were judged across five categories; Residential Development, Community Benefit, Heritage, Public Sector, Refurbishment-Revitalisation.

A scheme at Dartmoor National Park was revealed as the winner of the Heritage Project category.

The project involved the simultaneous repair of 15 historic rural agricultural buildings in Dartmoor National Park in a limited timescale, with limited funding and under strict conservation criteria.

The pilot project was a collaboration between national cultural and heritage bodies, government departments, five national parks, farm owners, conservation architects, specialist consultants and conservation contractors.

The project identified vulnerable historic agricultural buildings which are rooted in the cultural identity of each national park, and were in danger of being lost to decay. Funding was provided for masterplans and specialist conservation repair work to rescue them for continued use in an agricultural context with 80% funding.

The full list winning projects in the South West are:

·        Dartmoor National Park - Heritage Project

·        Bayspace St Ives - Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project

·        Keynvor residential development in Mawgan Porth - Residential Development

·        Keynsham Recycling Hub - Public Sector Project

·        Cidermill Theatre Chipping Campden School - Community Benefit Project

The RICS Awards showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. They recognise outstanding achievement, teamwork and companies.

The regional winners have now been shortlisted for the RICS Awards Grand Final, taking place in The Park Plaza Riverbank, London on Friday, 4 October. Each project will compete at national level, with one of the national winning projects being awarded the ultimate accolade of Project of the Year.

James Wakeham, Chair of the South West RICS Awards judging panel, said: “These winning projects are a true testament to the hard work and dedication of industry professionals in the South West. The talent and collaborative approaches undertaken by the teams behind these projects have resulted in exemplary and innovative schemes that really do represent the very best built projects across the South West.

“RICS is delighted to recognise the hard work that went behind ensuring these projects were delivered successfully and I wish the winning projects the best of luck in the grand final later this year.”