Mercia Marina has beaten stiff competition to be announced overall regional winner in an award scheme recognising building excellence.
The marina’s £1.7m Boardwalk development was voted overall winner in the East Midlands round of the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Awards, as well as winning the Best Small Commercial Building category.
It beat the likes of other category winners including Leicester’s King Richard III Visitor Centre and the new Derby Arena to take the coveted Chairman’s Award, and will go through to the national 2015 LABC Awards in London in November.
The Boardwalk, which opened last autumn is a shopping, leisure and office development at Mercia Marina’s 74-acre site in Findern Lane, near Willington, South Derbyshire. It was built by Derby-based Davlyn Construction.
LABC, which holds its building excellence awards annually, represents all local authority building control teams in England and Wales.
Robert Neff, general manager of Mercia Marina, said: “This is a hugely exciting award. We are absolutely delighted.
“The Boardwalk was designed to be a stunning, high-quality and iconic addition to the marina, but the challenge also was to ensure it complemented the natural environment of our beautiful location. We have certainly achieved that, so it’s fantastic that the building industry has recognised our efforts in this way.”
The winners in a range of individual award categories from 12 regions across England and Wales will compete at the LABC Grand Finals 2015 at a ceremony at Lancaster Hotel, London, on November 10.
The 2015 awards are for building projects that were completed in 2014. Projects are judged on a number of criteria including sustainability, outstanding features and technical innovation, craftsmanship, teamwork and site management.
The Boardwalk is a two-storey shopping, leisure and office development sitting on a narrow peninsula overlooking the marina’s 24-acre lake. It consists of a central pub/restaurant, called The Boardwalk Bar & Dining, a flagship farm shop and cafe, a beauty salon, as well as fashion, furniture, children and gift stores.
The first-floor offices have been leased by a pharmaceutical company that had outgrown its old premises in Burton.
