Parkhead hub wins UK’s best public sector project at RICS awards

It claimed the prestigious category ahead of major schemes from across the UK, from Loughborough to London, Coventry, Portsmouth and Gateshead.

Other winners on the night included the Natural History Museum in London, the Stephenson Building at Newcastle University, and the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London.

Parkhead Health and Social Care and Community Hub is the largest primary care facility in Scotland, supporting the northeast locality of Glasgow by improving local access to health, social care and community-based services. It opened earlier this year.

Through the construction period, the project has delivered over £19.5 million in social value and supported a number of local community projects.

The project will be NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s first net zero-in-operation facility and will support a wide range of health and community services within a bright, welcoming and modern environment.

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

Commenting on Parkhead Health and Social Care and Community Hub, the judges said: “This ground-breaking, net zero healthcare and community facility is transforming the service delivery in the East of Glasgow, benefitting over 176,000 people.

“The hub brings together a comprehensive range of services across acute, primary care, mental health, children’s services, addiction support, homelessness assistance and many more needed activities into a single accessible location.

“Community involvement is enhanced with priority given to local councils, voluntary groups and even includes the Parkhead Library. Scotland’s first net zero operational facility - no fossil fuels are used in the building - is used as an exemplar and a blueprint for the way forward in Scotland for the delivery of health and related services.”

The prestigious annual event was held at the Hilton Park Lane, London on Thursday, 16th October.

Alongside project categories, the winners of the special category awards for infrastructure and environmental impact, as well as the team awards for outstanding contributions to surveying for SMEs and large firms were announced. The winners of the Ambassador of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award were revealed at the ceremony too.

The full list of winners at the RICS UK Awards:

• Project of the year - Stephenson Building, Newcastle
• Land Management & Sustainable Development Award - Langford Lowfields, Newark
• Commercial Development Award - Welcome Building, Bristol
• Residential Development Award - Ebury Estate Regeneration, London
• Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project Award - Stephenson Building, Newcastle
• Public Sector Project Award - Parkhead Health and Social Care and Community Hub, Glasgow
• Community Benefit Project Award - Shankill Shared Women’s Centre, Belfast
• Heritage Project Award - Rochdale Town Hall
• Infrastructure Award - Thames Tideway Tunnel, London
• Environmental Impact Award - The Natural History Museum, London
• Outstanding contribution to surveying Award by an SME – Ekkist
• Outstanding contribution to surveying Award by a medium/large firm - Transport for London, Procurement & Commercial, Capital - Construction, Station Enhancements Team (TfLPCCCSE)
• Ambassador of the Year – Suki Bell FRICS
• Lifetime Achievement Award - Julian Lyon FRICS

RICS UK Awards national chair, Kerry Gibbs, said: “It is an honour to judge these awards. We had the pleasure of visiting each of the winning projects, and to meet with the teams behind them, and to see their passion is a truly heartwarming experience. These projects play an integral role in their communities, and wider local economies, and these awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the success of the surveyors across the UK delivering them.

“The teams and individuals behind these projects should be very proud of their successes, a huge congratulations to all of the winners.”