A CARE home in Bingley has been named one of the best new building projects in the country.

Fern House, an £11.5 million care home, with 49 one and two-bedroom apartments for elderly people, was named the best Residential Built Project in the UK at the RICS Awards Grand Final.

It fought off competition from 11 other regional winners to take home the prize, including Royal Albert Wharf in London and Timekeepers Square in Salford.

The care home, which also provides 30 en-suite dementia care rooms, extensive communal areas such as a restaurant, hair and beauty salon, assisted spa bathrooms, a shop, hobbies room and sensory garden, picked up the prize from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors at a ceremony at The Brewery in London last night.

The awards celebrate the UK’s most inspirational initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors that have a significant impact on the communities they serve.

Ferm House, which stands on the site of the former Bingley Hospital, was named regional winner for Yorkshire & the Humber in May before picking up the national prize.

Tracey Hartley, head of residential at Howard de Walden Estates and awards judge, praised Fern House for the service it provides its tenants.

She said: “The real winning factor is the impressive way in which the wants and needs of the residents were considered in detail from the earliest design and planning stages.

“These were then intelligently incorporated into the building with a design sympathetic to neighbouring houses but also taking account of the significant construction challenges of the site.

“The long term operational running of the building was at the heart of the design process and the result is an environment which genuinely contributes to the wellbeing of its residents, their families and friends and the local community, all achieved through excellent team work and communication.”

Robert Hindle, chair of the judging panel for the Yorkshire & the Humber regional awards, added: “The judges saw an array of thoughtful residential schemes from both the public and private sectors where the needs of the occupants have been considered well.

“Therefore, we are delighted that a Yorkshire development picked up the national Residential award.

“It’s fantastic recognition not only for Fern House, but also for our region, and the team behind it who have done an amazing job at creating the vital and intimate link between a home and the well-being of its occupants.”

Other winners in the awards were Yr Ysgwrn in Gwynedd, Wales, for Building Conservation, the White Collar Factory in London for Commercial, Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray for Community Benefit, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire at the University of Birmingham for Design through Innovation, Mersey Gateway Project in Widnes for Infrastructure, and Command of the Oceans in Chatham, Kent for Tourism and Leisure.

The winner of winners, taking home the prestigious UK Project of the Year title, was named as Woodberry Down in Finsbury Park, London, which was the winner of the Regeneration category, and was a multi-million pound estate regeneration project, one of the largest the capital has seen.