The consortium of four Glasgow housebuilders that developed the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village has scooped the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

The Awards are presented to UK businesses for outstanding achievement in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. They are known as being the highest official UK awards for British businesses, with all award winners invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace, which is hosted by HRH The Queen.

The award for the City Legacy consortium - which comprises CCG, Cruden, Mactaggart & Mickel and WH Malcolm – is in the Sustainable Development category.

This reflects the numerous energy efficiency measures that were incorporated at the Athletes’ Village, such as solar panels, a ventilation and heat recovery system to recycle air and heat, and a district heating scheme that supplies instant heat and constant hot water and is around 40 per cent more efficient than normal heating schemes.

The Queen’s Award is the 25th award that the Athletes’ Village has won for its high quality design, sustainability, and the role it has played in the regeneration of Glasgow’s east end. Previous awards include Best Sustainable Development at the Scottish Business Awards, winner in the Large Scale Housing Development category at the Scottish Saltire Design Awards, and the Regeneration winner at the Scottish Design Awards.

The Athletes’ Village provided accommodation for 6,500 athletes and officials during the Commonwealth Games, before being converted to 700 homes - 400 for social rental and 300 for private sale. The Village has been a huge success story, with private homes selling out in early 2016, almost two years ahead of schedule.

It is also part of a real community, with a 120-bed care home, plans for a new primary and nursery school, and direct access to the Cuningar Loop, a new £5.7m, 15 hectare riverside woodland park provided by Legacy 2014 funding. Also close to The Village is the Dalmarnock Legacy Hub - a centre for the local community with a GP surgery, children’s nursery, chemist and shop.

John Gallacher of Cruden and director of City Legacy said: “The Village has won many awards in the past, but this one is extra-special. To be given a Queen’s Award for Enterprise is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the wonderful journey that The Village has taken us on here at City Legacy. It really is the icing on the cake.

“The success of The Village could not have been achieved without the hard work and dedication of my fellow directors, Calum Murray at CCG, Ed Monaghan at Mactaggart & Mickel and Martin Kiely at WH Malcolm and their teams - not to mention my own team here at Cruden. We were always confident that the Village would be an exceptional project, but even we were a little surprised by the speed at which the homes sold, and the extent which it has sparked the wider regeneration of the surrounding area.”

Councillor Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council, who were partners in The Village project, said: “The 2014 Games really were the greatest games ever and the Athletes’ Village is one the most prominent examples of the lasting legacy for the East End of Glasgow. I am over the moon that this project, which the council has delivered in partnership with City Legacy, has been acknowledged with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. You cannot get a higher level of recognition than that.”