RICS UK Awards Yorkshire & Humber: Winners

Introducing the winners from this year’s RICS UK Awards regional ceremony in Yorkshire & Humber:

Project of the Year: The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, Leeds

Category: Community Benefit

Nominated by: Drees & Sommer UK

Surveyor: Drees & Sommer UK

The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is a purpose‑built specialist healthcare and community facility, located at Seacroft Hospital in Leeds. It brings together clinical care, research, education and family support in one dedicated setting.

Funded by a £6.8m community‑led fundraising campaign, the project was shaped through extensive co‑design with clinicians, patients and families. It provides dignified, non‑clinical spaces alongside specialist healthcare facilities, supporting holistic care for people living with MND, creating a lasting legacy in honour of Rob Burrow.

This was a project of national significance, shaped by extraordinary community generosity and a collective commitment to improving the lives of people living with MND. Delivering such a sensitive, high‑profile scheme required the highest levels of professional integrity, transparent governance, and genuine partnership with clinical teams, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds Hospitals Charity and the MND Association.

Heritage Category Winner: Calverley Old Hall

Nominated by: The Landmark Trust and Cowper Griffith Architects LLP

Surveyor: Darren Procter MRICS, Andrew Gaunt MRICS, BWA

This project saw the grade I listed Calverley Hall, which had fallen into disrepair, transformed into a mixed-use heritage site, providing a ten-person Landmark holiday let

alongside a community room, ancillary accommodation and a two-person home for shorthold tenancy. It is a prime example of heritage restoration that considers its social, environmental, and economic impact, built for a sustainable future.

The works have transformed a historic property on the verge of division into a vibrant centre, benefitting the local community, visitors, and patrons of conservation. The project design fulfilled a desire to let the building speak, re-establishing the original room volumes and circulation routes so visitors could experience the property as the family did.

Outstanding Contribution to Surveying by an SME: Castle Owen Construction and Property Consultants Ltd

Nominated by: Castle Owen Construction and Property Consultants Ltd

Based in Sheffield, Castle Owen Construction and Property Consultants Ltd has built an extensive 25‑year portfolio of high-profile and complex schemes, including

specialist facilities and highly classified projects. The firm’s unique model blends expert technical capability with in‑house designers, ensuring every client benefits from both construction expertise and creative, design‑led thinking.

The past year has been transformational for the Castle Owen. With a workflow concentrated in Higher Education, sector‑wide funding cuts reduced income from the sector by 55%. Facing a significant revenue risk, Castle Owen acted decisively to diversify into new sectors, securing major national public sector frameworks.

Today, the team is actively delivering over 160 live projects. What could have been a year of contraction became a catalyst for innovation, growth, client diversification, and strengthened financial resilience while retaining and expanding the team for 2026.

Refurbishment/Revitalisation Category Winner: OnSide Youth Zone, Grimsby

Nominated by: Hobson & Porter Ltd

Surveyor: Phil Broadley MRICS, Hobson & Porter

Onside is a national charity that funds, builds and supports a network of modern youth centres, known as Youth Zones, nationwide. The newly developed Grimsby location opened its doors in February 2026. It will welcome around 4,000 young people from the area and create roughly 100 jobs and 70 volunteer positions.

Young people will benefit from facilities including a climbing wall, music room with recording studio, performing arts space, craft room, 3D printing equipment and kiln, a 3G kick pitch, boxing gym, sports hall, fitness suite, sensory room and hygiene suite. They will also be supported with local progression into employment and apprentice opportunities, offering a pathway into the construction industry.

The new development has an impressive Grade II listed exterior, with the middle section of the building sitting at the heart of the development, alongside the River Freshney. Despite the technical complexity of restoring and repurposing a Grade II listed building, the team successfully blended heritage preservation with modern functionality. The result is a state-of-the-art facility that captures the historical character of West Haven Maltings and Migar House buildings, providing a modern, inspiring space for Grimsby’s young people.

Residential Development Category Winner: Leonora House, Leeds

Nominated by: Brewster Bye Architects

Surveyor: William Edson - MRICS

Leonora House, Leeds, is a development of 58 apartments for social rent. The overarching achievement of the project is how completely it not only meets but exceeds the initial brief: that of providing a good choice of good quality affordable housing at the edge of Leeds City Centre.

Numerous technical and political hurdles were tackled head-on and met with success through the diligence and professionalism of those involved. The result is a five-storey, energy-efficient building, connected to the "Leeds Pipes" district heating system, and offering electric vehicle charging points and cycle storage to promote sustainable travel.  The ground floor apartments feature private gardens, while communal landscaped areas enhance biodiversity. Each apartment has a flexible layout with workspace areas,

reflecting the shift toward home working.

Going above and beyond the bare minimum can be a difficult path to tread. But the rewards are manifold: Leonora House is a future-ready development that is not only a product of its environment but enhances it through its presence: improved public

open greenspace, landscaped gardens, a large public green, and contributions towards improvements of the local park were all made possible through this development. All this adjacent to an economically vibrant city centre, at social rent levels, for the people of Leeds, forever.

All winners recognised at the Yorkshire & Humber awards ceremony will now go on to compete at the RICS UK Awards Grand Final later in 2026. Find out more.