Berkeley Homes' position as a leader of regeneration was given further recognition recently when it received a Gold award for its restoration and conversion of The Bakery and The Granary within its Royal Clarence Marina development in Portsmouth Harbour. The Green Apple Awards for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage were held at the New Armouries, HM Tower of London, where the renowned botanist and environmental campaigner, Professor David Bellamy, OBE, presented Berkeley Homes with its award.
"We are proud to have received this award, which recognises our expertise in creating sustainable communities within complex regeneration schemes. The restoration and conversion was particularly challenging and we are delighted with the finished result," commented Gary Hodges, managing director of Berkeley Homes Southern.
The Green Apple Awards, launched in 2000, is one of the major schemes recognising and rewarding environmental endeavour within the industry. The Green Apple Awards are run by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist and non-profit environment group committed to the recognition of environmental best practice around the world.
Royal Clarence Marina, now a conservation area, was built for the purpose of supplying food and drink to the ships of the Royal Navy in the late 18th century. It remained in such use until the 1960s. It was a huge undertaking that required artesian wells, a cooperage, a granary, a bakery and a mill. These operations were housed in splendid buildings, many Grade I & II listed, which are now being carefully restored as homes, leisure facilities and commercial buildings.
Taking some four years to complete, the restoration and conversion of the 200-year old Granary and Bakery buildings at Royal Clarence Marina was a critically important undertaking, as they represent two of the best surviving examples of historic maritime architecture in the UK. The restored buildings now provide 44 one, two and three-bedroom luxury apartments on the upper floors, with leisure facilities and office space on the lower floors.