Barratt Homes has been crowned Homes for Scotland’s Home Builder of the Year at the trade body’s largest ever ceremony, which was held in Edinburgh last week in front of an 1100-strong crowd of senior industry leaders and guests.

The awards, which were presented by comedian and actor Tim Vine, recognise the achievements of those involved in delivering the wide range of quality homes Scotland desperately needs, with judging criteria significantly strengthened over the last couple of years to ensure that they remain the most robust and credible within the industry.

Barratt scooped the top honour as the result of its strong showing in three categories, customer focus and commitment to Scotland. Judges were also impressed with the pride and passion demonstrated by senior management during a comprehensive interview.

Kareen Davidson, chair of the independent judging panel for a second consecutive year and former sales & marketing director at Bett Homes, said: “With the rigorous judging process which is in place ensuring that Homes for Scotland awards are very much worth winning, I have been delighted to see the quality of entries increase year-on-year.

“All of the finalists were strong contenders in their own right and all are therefore extremely worthy of recognition. This was reinforced by the judging process involving site inspections in the development categories, the introduction of interviews in the Supporting Organisation category and the need to demonstrate how the needs of a modern day family are met in the Home of the Year category.

“Judging the awards has been a tough but rewarding job and we congratulate everyone who entered for their commitment and showcasing their achievements in helping to ensure we are building enough homes for Scotland.”

Douglas McLeod, regional managing director for Barratt Scotland, added: “Design, quality and service are at the heart of what we are trying to achieve. We take an enormous amount of pride in the consistently high levels of quality and service that we deliver for our customers across Scotland.

“It’s a great achievement for Barratt Homes and its developments to be recognised as leaders in terms of the quality of what we do. We are passionate about the homes we build so it’s fantastic to be acknowledged by the Homes for Scotland panel in this way. In the end it’s not just about individual homes that we build it’s about the places we create.”

Elsewhere, the redevelopment of the former Broxburn Primary School in West Lothian was named Affordable Housing Development of the Year.

Constructed by partnership housing developer Lovell on behalf of West Lothian Council on the former Broxburn Primary School site, the new purpose built residential flats are designed specifically for older people and to enable them to live as independently as possible.

Creating minimal impact on the surrounding area, Broxburn – Housing for Older People utilised many of the original 1890’s sandstone buildings’ features. Two new buildings were also constructed to create 18 one and two bedroom flats arranged around a shared courtyard and garden area.

Demonstrating Lovell’s strong commitment to investing in the local area, 80% of subcontractors working on the project came from within 40km of the project site. Running alongside the development programme, Lovell also made particular efforts to establish an educational schools and colleges programme. This included a Health and Safety team visit to the new Broxburn Primary School, giving pupils an opportunity to learn about good health and safety practice and the dangers of building sites.

On winning the Affordable Housing Development of the Year category, Sarah Freel from Lovell, said: “Everyone at Lovell is thrilled that our new development on Broxburn’s West Main Street has been named Affordable Housing Development of the Year at this year’s coveted Homes for Scotland awards.

“Lovell have been building affordable partnership homes for over 45 years, even selling the UK’s first ever affordable partnership development back in 1972. We are committed to working with a range of local partners to deliver housing that is carefully tailored to the needs of the local community. It’s really gratifying for such a collaborative project to be recognised through these awards and we are very grateful to everyone involved in bringing the project to life.”

The Homes for Scotland Awards were established in 2003 to recognise and promote best practice in the industry. Building on the success of 2016’s refreshed and refocused awards, the 2017 programme introduced more stringent judging criteria and site visits, making these awards particularly sought after.

A full list of winners can be accessed here.