Cottage industry pays dividends

A developer and architect have been put forward for a regional award for their redevelopment of a row of derelict cottages in Collingham.

Mr and Mrs Andrew Arden, of Furrowfresh Homes Ltd, Newton-on-Trent, and Miss Ursula Bradwell, of Ursula Bradwell Architects Ltd, Langford, received a gold award at the Building Excellence Awards at Kelham Hall.

The award was for the best 2-5 unit housing development.

All gold winners were nominated for the Local Authority Building Control regional awards, which take place on Friday in Nottingham.

In 2001 Newark and Sherwood District Council bought the cottages at 150, 152, 154 and 156 High Street, Collingham, under a compulsory purchase order because of their poor condition.

They were bought from Mr Norman Staley-Brookes who had resisted enforcement action and court orders to repair them. They were then sold at auction to developers for £181,000.

The work on the cottages included partial demolition, rebuilding and demolition of a garage.

Miss Bradwell said it took two years to get planning permission for the project, completed last year.

She said the cottages, which are now up for sale, were in a very poor state and she believed they had been empty since the 1990s.

“It was one of the most difficult projects we have had to handle.”

She said: “The villagers were very supportive. I think they were pleased to see them being developed.”

Mr and Mrs Arden’s son, Mr Caleb Arden, who was the project manager, said: “I was happy with the work we had put in. For somebody to recognise it and put us through is a pat on the back.”

The Building Excellence Awards were organised jointly and judged by the building control departments at the district council and Gedling Borough Council.

Each department nominated builders, developers and architects with points assigned for elements of work, including compliance with building regulations, site safety, tidiness, sustainability, accessibility and customer feedback.

Projects could achieve bronze, silver or gold standard.

Gold awards and nomination for the Local Authority Building Control regional awards also went to architects DCS Ltd and developer Mr A. Buchan in the categories for best one-off house and best sustainable or technical project for their work at The Pebbles, Southwell Road, Farnsfield.