The WhatHouse? Awards, which celebrates residential developments across the UK, recognised Springfield’s Bertha Park, on the outskirts of Perth and Dykes of Gray in Dundee. Bertha Park secured the gold title for Best Sustainable Development and Dykes of Gray scooped the silver award for Best Public Realm.

Once complete, Bertha Park will include a mix of 3,000 homes across a range of tenures. Spanning 823 acres, the village has become the gold standard for how residential placemaking should be approached in Scotland and has been designed to have everything a community needs to thrive, from cafes to shops and vast greenspace with allotments, an orchard and additional schools included in the masterplan. It also features the first purpose-built high school in Scotland for 20 years, one of 17 Microsoft flagship schools in the world.

Judges were impressed that Bertha Park homes feature cabling for electric car charging, sustainable heating systems and high levels of insulation. New homes at the village are four times more efficient than older equivalent homes and qualify for green mortgages thanks to their EPC rating of B. The wider village boasts an established loch, ancient woodland and a biodiverse suds pond that is already home to a family of swans.

Demonstrating its understanding that sustainability extends to more than energy efficient homes and development design, Springfield’s dedicated Community Engagement Co-ordinator regularly engages with the residents at Bertha Park, encouraging the community to come together at seasonal events, while keeping them updated with the latest village information.

The team’s understanding and commitment to community and sustainable design also saw Springfield win the silver award for Best Public Realm for its Dykes of Gray village in Dundee. The village includes public art, green corridors, places for children to play and a community core complete with local businesses overlooking an amphitheatre.

Judges praised Springfield for its commitment to delivering sustainable and quality places for people to call home.

Springfield chief executive, Innes Smith, said: “We’re understandably delighted to have our Springfield villages recognised at such a respected event. With steep competition from across the UK to win these awards is an enormous achievement particularly from such a high-profile platform.

“Sustainability is understandably a hot topic at present, and it has been a focus for us at Springfield for some time. We endeavour to create sustainable places for people to live, deliver energy efficient homes that are cost effective to run, engage with the communities to enhance our social impact while regularly reviewing our internal practices to mitigate our own impact on the environment. To have had our efforts recognised with two national awards with competition from housebuilders across the UK is an astounding recognition.

“With energy costs at the fore of everyone’s minds and with recent research finding that buyers of a new build home save on average £2,600 pa in energy bills each year at current prices, we couldn’t be prouder delivering such efficient homes and great places that allow our customers to live more sustainably amongst attractive surroundings. These awards are a fantastic endorsement for what our customers benefit directly from.”