And the nominations are…

In the past few years South Yorkshire has come a long way. In a region that used to contain some of Europe’s most deprived areas and needed one of the largest Housing Market Renewal (HMR) pathfinder investment programmes, industries have expanded and diversified, and there are some great new places to live.

In recognition of the innovative work that is being done by developers and local authorities to raise design standards Transform South Yorkshire (TSY) and Delivering Design Quality (DDQ) have created the Design Awards Scheme.

The awards are designed to reflect the different aspects of our activities at TSY and DDQ, and showcase the organisations and practitioners that are achieving high design standards.

As well as a chance to celebrate these successes, we’re also using the awards as a forum where developers and local authorities can come together and discuss the issues that currently face the industry.

To get the ball rolling, the awards evening will start with Sir Robert Kerslake, chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, who will be providing the keynote speech on the national scene in housing development. There will also be a debate between Sir Kerslake, the award judges and TSY board members on achieving design quality during the credit crunch.

We’ve been running the DDQ programme for over 2 years, supporting the public and private sectors to achieve higher design quality in over 90 projects. The project provides a pro bono service for both developers and local authorities in South Yorkshire, who are committed to improving their design in housing and place-making. DDQ offers practical and financial advice to allow them to achieve national standards.

We know that it’s been a challenging year for both developers and local authorities. In a competitive market the planning process, buyers and tenants all expect well-designed houses that have low energy and maintenance costs, to be within a safe environment and have good access to local facilities. We want to help developers meet these expectations within budget and with increased profitability.

To find out more about DDQ and The Design Awards Scheme visit http://www.ddq.org.uk/tsy_awards09.html