South Yorkshire Retail Developer Praised in National Awards !

South Yorkshire Retail Developer Praised in National Awards !

5 January 2011

South Yorkshire based retailer property specialist Dransfield Properties Ltd has earned praise in two major industry awards for the company's Sanderson Arcade development in Morpeth, Northumberland.

The centre was crowned as the country's best mixed use development in the UK Property Awards which were announced at the Lancaster Hotel in London. The UK Property Awards, in association with Google and Bloomberg Television, are part of the International Property Awards and the Arcade also went through to be judged in the finals alongside schemes across the globe!

And the town centre retail development was Highly Commended in its category in the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC) Gold Awards held at the Grosvenor Hotel, also in the capital, in December.

Sanderson Arcade was opened in November 2009 by Joanna Lumley OBE.  The town centre development is anchored by M&S and has brought a host of new retailers to Morpeth including Laura Ashley, Body Shop, EAST and Crew Clothing.

Stuart Shield, chairman of the International Property Awards, said: “There are some incredibly strong roots being established for the future growth and generation of properties that are more attractive to look at, safer, kinder to the environment, smarter and able to deliver a better quality of life for those who live and work in them.”

The Award judges included Luke McKend, industry head of property markets of Google UK and Peter Bolton King, group chief executive of the National Federation of Property Professionals.

In the BCSC Awards, hosted by Rory Bremner, Sanderson Arcade was short listed in the In Town Retail Schemes of 300,000 sq ft or less and alongside schemes across the UK. 

The development was praised for transforming a failing shopping centre and raising Morpeth in the retail rankings. The judges also paid tribute to the high quality of the architecture by Chesterfield based WCEC and the excellent customer service and awarded a commendation to the professional team.

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, based at Tankersley in Barnsley, said: “It is extremely rewarding for everyone involved in the delivery of Sanderson Arcade to achieve a top national award and a commendation in the same month.

“Due to the success of Sanderson Arcade we have been overwhelmed by the interest from retailers in the next phase of the scheme. We are now looking forward to announcing the full line up of stores in the second phase which will be completed in the early part of this year.”

The Arcade was also highly commended in the RICS Awards last year and named as runner up in the national SCEPTRE Awards in June.

Pictures shows left to right: are Glen Mason of Sanderson Arcade, Gavin Ward of WCEC Architects in Chesterfield, Mark Dransfield of Dransfield Properties Ltd, Debbie Anderson, Centre Manager of Sanderson Arcade, Mark Williams of Mason Owen and UK Property Awards Northern Awards Manager Tom Czekirda.

EDITOR’S NOTES

Sanderson Arcade: the development has delivered 27 new retail units from 183 sq ft to 32,160 sq ft. Modern first floor offices have also been created in this mixed use scheme and the centre is also home to the women’s gym energie as well as the local offices of the Swedish bank Handelsbanken. The architecture was inspired by the Burlington Arcade in London. For further information visit www.sandersonarcade.co.uk

The International Property Awards: the awards cover both residential and commercial categories. Top scoring entries from all the different regions (Arabia, the UK, Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa) were re-judged to find the ultimate World’s Best in each category. The winner of the overall International Prize for the Best Development - Mixed Use Category was the Guoson Centre in China.  For further information visit: www.propertyawards.net

The BCSC Gold Awards: The Gold Awards are leading accolades within the shopping centre and retail destination industry. They are designed to reward excellence in retail-led development and recognise projects that drive regeneration and generate improvement in the quality of the built environment. The awards also recognise stores and other operators within the retail environment. For further information visit www.bcsc.org.uk/goldawards

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk