By Andrew Batt:
A striking residential property 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 – and 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, 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 £2million, while the Gold winner — a villa in Edinburgh — is on sale at £795,000. It means The Sessile is, effectively, the joint-best new build in England and Wales.
Judges said the limited-edition property – part of the £30million 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@allproperty.com.sg
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