Benoy project ‘Wokingham Town Centre Regeneration’ has won a prestigious ULI Europe Award for Excellence.
The awards recognise outstanding urban development projects in the private, public and non-profit sectors, located in EMEA countries.
This is the second significant award the project has been recognised for — last year it was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute’s award for ‘Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy.’
Our work at Wokingham saw us working across two sites – Peach Place and Elms Fields, as part of a wider regeneration project instigated by Wokingham Borough Council in the face of a failing retail and leisure offer, lack of town centre living and competition from nearby competing centres such as Bracknell and Reading.
Closely following Wokingham Borough Council’s vision, Benoy reimagined the town centre as a thriving destination for commerce and urban living; with modern retail formats, F&B, leisure and a significant quantum of residential across two mixed-use developments at Peach Place and Elms Field.
The award judges commented, ‘This regeneration project achieved what it set out to do: deliver a financially viable scheme for the benefit of the local community, complete with green spaces and a public park that residents can be proud of.’
The completed mixed-use project not only provided a focal point to the community throughout the pandemic but is also likely to be future proof as residents spend more time working from home and less time commuting into nearby employment centres including London.
Commenting, Mike Wilson-MacCormack, who led the project for Benoy, said: ‘We are delighted that the project has been recognised with this award. From the start, we shared Wokingham Borough Council’s vision for what the town centre could be, and working together, were able to create a thriving destination which residents can be proud of.’
Tom Cartledge, Handley House CEO said: ‘At a time when many town centres are needing to set a new direction and be part of an urban revival, the success of the Wokingham scheme offers lessons to us all. This is a vison and model that has worked, delivering greater economic prosperity for the town whilst also bringing the community together via revitalised open spaces. At Handley House, we are increasingly being asked to advise on these types of schemes across the UK and look forward to seeing similar success stories emerging in the coming years.’
The international jury that selected the winning projects was made up of leading ULI members, from all across Europe, representing multidisciplinary real estate expertise, including commercial real estate, finance, architecture, land planning and development, and professional services. The judging panel consisted of jury chairman and ULI Global Governing Trustee Giancarlo Scotti, CEO, Reale Compagnia Italiana, and included Clarissa Alfrink, Avison Young; Theodore Charagionis, Charagionis Group; Sigrid Duhamel, BNP Paribas REIM France; Manfred Guenterberg, Wolfsburg AG; Sophie Henley-Price, STUDIOS Architecture; Karolina Kaim, High Level Advisory; Tinka Kleine, PGGM; Vanessa Muscarà, Europa Capital; and Petran van Heel, Eteck Energy.
