Derby community hub and school shortlisted for prestigious award
Published: 2 March 2020
Council house at night
Three months after its relaunch, the St Augustine’s Community Hub housing the new Normanton Library has been shortlisted for a prestigious Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Social Impact award, alongside an innovative new Derby school, Hackwood Primary.
The national awards are intended to reflect the outstanding work being done within the built environment, recognising how building projects are providing opportunities for people as well as enhancing the environment in their local area.
The refurbishment, and reconfiguration, of St Augustine’s Community Centre in Almond Street, Normanton has revived the building by bringing local services together, improving community space and incorporating the neighbourhood library.
As residents rediscover the Centre, the new Normanton Library on the Ground Floor is growing in popularity, with its wide range of available books, including a good stock in languages such as Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Russian as well as French and German. There’s also a Job Club, helping people with job application and CV skills, a Reading Project, which helps adults improve their reading and writing skills. Rhyme time is a weekly session for parents with babies and toddlers and Code Club is there for 8 to 13 year olds
The new Hackwood Primary School, part of The Harmony Trust, progressed from planning to handover in less than a year thanks to the efficiency afforded by innovative modular construction methods, and effective collaboration between the public and private stakeholders involved.
The School was commissioned by Derby City Council, Redrow Homes East Midlands and Miller Homes and built by Morgan Sindall Construction. The school, designed by Lungfish Architects, is a modular single-storey school, spanning 14,000 square foot and housing seven classrooms and a 26-place nursery using innovative expandable units, which have the capacity to be expanded in future, to accommodate up to 315 pupils.
The judges will visit the Hub on Wednesday 4th March and the School on Tuesday 10th March with the East Midlands awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday 6th May. The winners from each region will go through to the national grand final in September.
Councillor Mick Barker, Cabinet Member for Governance and Licensing, said:
I’m delighted for our Property Services team and everyone who has worked on these projects. For St Augustine’s Community Hub, and Hackwood Primary School to be shortlisted for these national awards is an accolade in itself. The Community Centre has been transformed into a true community asset and Hackwood Primary is a fantastic example of partners working together to deliver an innovative and efficient solution to our school needs.