By Andrew Batt:
A striking residential property (pictured) in Brynna, South Wales, has been officially recognised as the best house in Wales and joint best in England at the What House? Awards 2012.
It
boasts an 88-acre ‘back garden’, while the location – Rhondda Cynon
Taff – has already been named as one of the UK’s top 10 investment
hotspots.
The Sessile, an eco-friendly detached home in the heart of Brynna Woods, was honoured at last week’s annual What House
Awards. The property, which is on the market for £465,000 (S$907,765), beat a
score of million pound apartments and townhouses to scoop Silver in the
coveted Best House category.
It shared the award with another
new build in central London costing £2 million (S$3.9 million), while the Gold winner
— a villa in Edinburgh — is on sale at £795,000 (S$1.55 million). It means The
Sessile is, effectively, the joint-best new build in England and Wales.
Judges
said the limited-edition property – part of the £30 million ($58.56 million) Naturally
Woodlands development – was a “striking, well designed and
efficiently-planned home”.
This latest accolade comes less
than three months after Naturally Woodlands – set in 88 acres of ancient
Welsh woodland – was voted one of the best investments in Britain.
Peter
Mills, Director of Monmouthshire-based developer Wynndel Property
Management, said: “To win silver in the Best House category is an
incredible achievement, and the team and I are delighted. The level of
competition was exceptionally high, and this award is testament to the
property’s uniqueness and attention to detail. It looks like, and is, a
work of art at a price far, far cheaper than you would expect.”
He
added: “The Naturally Woodlands development is a new breed of bespoke,
luxury development rivalling anywhere in the UK for stunning scenery,
tranquillity, employment and communication links, and receiving the What House award should be seen as a major coup for Wales.”
Now in its 31st year, the What House
Awards – known as the Oscars of the property industry – recognise the
builders of the best new homes in Britain. They reward developers for
delivering “exciting, dynamic and pioneering projects” in local
communities.
An extensive panel of property experts including
architects, surveyors, property writers and industry specialists judged
it to be “an innovative experiment that has proved a great success”.
The
judges described the futuristic family home as “light, energetic and
modern, yet built with traditional materials and strikingly planned”. It
does, they noted, represent an “exceptional standard” of high-quality
home which combines “comfortable family living at a realistic price, but
with the edge to lift it above its competitors”.
A spokesman
for Cardiff-based Rio Architects who designed The Sessile and the
Naturally Woodlands development, said: “Receiving this award is a proud
achievement and fantastic badge of honour.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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