A NEW £10.4m extra care and dementia centre has been named the region’s best new residential development at a prestigious awards ceremony.

Fern House, Bingley, was designed by Brewster Bye Architects and picked up the accolade at this year's Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Yorkshire & Humber awards.

The home is an 84,000 square foot development which was built on the site of the former Bingley Hospital.

It was developed by The Abbeyfield Society and is run by Abbeyfield The Dales, which provides housing, support and care for people in later life across Yorkshire. Bardsley Construction was the project's principal contractor.

The development includes 49 extra care apartments and a residential suite, complete with 30 en-suite bedrooms, and is dedicated to supporting people living with dementia.

There is also a multi-storey entrance atrium, a restaurant, a hair and beauty salon, plus a rooftop lounge and landscaped courtyard garden areas.

The home was up against more than 45 other developments across the region at the awards ceremony, which was presented by Clare Frisby and held at the Centenary Pavilion at Leeds United Football Club.

Brewster Bye's Mark Henderson was presented with the award alongside Abbeyfield's Abdul A Ravat, Jacqueline Bradfield and Gwen Green.

Mr Henderson said: “Fern House is an exceptional development that offers an extremely functional, modern and light living environment, with superb facilities. "It has set a new benchmark in terms of quality and specification for extra care and dementia centres.

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“This award is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in the project and reinforces Brewster Bye’s reputation as one of the leading practices operating in the residential sector.”

The home began welcoming its first residents last September and has brought around 60 jobs to the area, as well as volunteering opportunities.

Foundation stones from the original Bingley Hospital building were restored to create a feature at the entrance of the development.

Established in 1956, the Abbeyfield Society is a nationwide charity which provides housing, support and companionship for people in later life. It now has more than 500 houses and developments throughout the UK that are home to around 8,000 older people.

Another Brewster Bye designed project was shortlisted in the community benefit category.

The Old Fire Station at Gipton, Leeds, saw a redundant fire station transformed into a state of the art community centre which is occupied by a number of charities and also has a cafe, a teaching kitchen, an enterprise hub and meeting rooms for hire.

The project was funded by Jimbo’s Fund, which was established with local charity Leeds Community Foundation by the late Leeds businessman and philanthropist Jimi Heselden.