WhatHouse? Awards 2016 winners – City & Country Group, Best Renovation

City & Country Group has added to its burgeoning collection of Gold plaques from the WhatHouse? Awards with another under the Best Renovation category at this year’s event earlier this month.

Lord (William) Hague was this year’s guest host for the biggest event in UK housebuilding, with 1,700 senior industry figures attending the 35th WhatHouse? Awards Gala Luncheon, held as ever in the Great Room of the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane. He handed the Gold to the City & Country team for its work at The Mansions Apartments on the King Edward VII Estate in Midhurst, West Sussex, for the second year running.

This year, City & Country Group also matched its achievement in 2015 by picking up a Silver in the Best Medium Housebuilder category.

This former tuberculosis hospital comprises a number of Grade II* listed buildings within a 164-acre estate, which the company is converting into apartments and houses combining many original Edwardian architectural features with the latest interior specification. It is one of a number of period locations and buildings this specialist developer is currently working on, with many of its prior development being honoured by the WhatHouse? judges over recent years .

Helen Moore, managing director at City & Country, says: “It is a huge accomplishment for the business to have won either a Gold or Silver award annually for the past eight years and that is testament to the high levels of excellence that we aspire to throughout the company. As specialists in restoration and conversion, we are particularly delighted that our work at King Edward VII Estate has been recognised for two years running with a Gold Award.

“It has been another hugely exciting year for City & Country; we’ve diversified our portfolio of sites significantly, work is set to begin on a number of prime new developments, and we have continued to sell at excellent rates at our major developments The General and King Edward VII Estate. The team can be thoroughly proud of their efforts.”

Of this impressive collection of homes set in the South Downs National Park, the Awards judging panel says: “The Mansion Apartments are the latest phase in this huge project and again prove City & Country’s mastery when it comes to adapting old buildings without compromising the aims of the original designers.

“Although the sanatorium’s layout lent itself to residential conversion, the divisions have been executed with considerable thought to provide space, light and non-repetitive floor plans without unnecessary loss of original fabric. Doors, windows and shutters that had previously been lost or replaced have been carefully remade or repaired based on evidence from historic photos.

“Equal care and attention to detail has been lavished on the communal areas that include wide corridors and a reading room with painstakingly renovated panelling. The work to the exterior facades is close to faultless.”

Find out more about the WhatHouse? Awards 2016 here.