Double award nomination for Plymouth extra care scheme

Aster Group is celebrating after its recently-completed River View extra care housing scheme in Ernesettle, Plymouth, was shortlisted for not one, but two coveted regional building awards.

The project has been nominated in the ‘Residential Project of the Year – 40 Units and Under’ category at the annual Michelmores Property Awards, which showcase and celebrate the very best of the South West’s Property and Construction Industry.

Representatives from Aster will join colleagues from Mitchell Architects, which entered the scheme for the award, and other project partners at a special awards dinner to be held on Thursday (26 May) at the Sandy Park Conference Centre, Exeter, when the winners will be announced.

And if one potential award wasn’t enough, the project has also been shortlisted in three categories – ‘Best High Volume New Housing Development’, ‘Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development’, and ‘Best Inclusive Building’ – at the South West Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards 2016, which take place at the Holiday Inn, Plymouth, on 1 July.

Built on the site of a former community centre in Duxford Close, River View features 40 self-contained flats, each featuring private kitchens and wet rooms. The development also features a community centre and hair salon, plus a communal kitchen, dining room, lounges, hobby rooms, wheelchair store and private gardens.

David Luke, Aster Group regional development director, says: “River View has already made a big difference to lives of many local people and we are very pleased it has been recognised by being shortlisted for these awards.

“This development has breathed new life into a site that had been disused for several years, providing much-needed new extra care housing for elderly and vulnerable local people with a diverse range of needs. Brownfield regeneration projects like this are vital as, not only do they help to address the need for new homes in cities like Plymouth, they also help to revitalise local communities too.”