Hat-trick of awards for new buildings

The Jennings Building in Porthcawl has picked up another award after being named ‘Best Small Commercial Building’ at the South Wales Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards.

Originally built in 1832, and having had many uses over the years before lying derelict for more than a decade, the building’s restoration into a stunning landmark on Porthcawl’s seafront has earned several plaudits for Loft Co and Ellis Williams Architects.

It was one of three Bridgend County Borough construction projects that won prizes at the LABC awards ceremony held at the Vale Resort in Hensol earlier this month.

Llanmoor Homes’ Pentre Felin development in Tondu picked up the accolade for ‘Best Large Volume New Housing’ while a striking new café and meeting space next to the South Wales Police HQ was named as the ‘Best Inclusive Building’. Known as ‘Y Bont’, the building was designed by Oriel Architects and built by Willmott Dixon.

Each project will now go forward to the national round of the LABC awards to be held in Cardiff later this year.

The LABC Building Excellence Awards are about celebrating excellence from the drawing board to the site, and recognise the workmanship and technical innovation that goes into constructing high quality buildings that meet customer needs.

These three impressive projects certainly deserve all of the recognition they are getting and I would like to congratulate everyone who was involved in their design and construction.

Councillor Richard Young, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities