The £35m extension to Swindon’s Designer Outlet shopping centre has been named among the region’s best new buildings.
The project has been shortlisted in the ‘building conversation’ category of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) South West awards, putting it head to head with major schemes across the region.
The 50,000 sq ft extension of the Grade II listed Long Shop has attracted a number of new retail brands to the site such as Coast and relocated existing occupers such as Next and Marks & Spencer. It has also expanded the centre’s food offering with national chains such as Giraffe and Soho Coffee Co and created around 350 jobs. 
Eight category winners and a project of the year will be selected from the 42 shortlisted entries to the awards. The winners from the Building Conservation, Community Benefit, Infrastructure, Design through Innovation and the Regeneration categories will then be invited to represent the South West and compete against projects from across the rest of the UK at the overall RICS Awards in London.
The Swindon Designer Outlet extension is competing in the Building Conservation category where it is up against aerospace giant Airbus’s refurbished Pegasus House at its plant at Filton and four other schemes.
The new Devizes warehouse, distribution and production base built for manufacturing firm Latchways, which makes safety harnesses, is competing in the Commercial category against Simply Health House in Bristol, The Hive innovation hub in Weston-super-Mare and the Treleigh Business Park in Redruth, Cornwall.
RICS South regional director Lynn Robinson said: “The quality of entries received this year is truly outstanding and clearly demonstrates the fantastic work being carried out by property professionals. There is a wealth and variety of inspirational new projects and regenerated developments, I am sure it will be a challenging judging process.”
Judging for the awards will take place this spring with the RICS South West Awards ceremony held at the Bristol Marriott Hotel on May 21.
Hosting the South West Awards is BBC presenter Alex Lovell. The RICS Awards UK national ceremony will take place in London in October 2015.
The RICS South West Awards 2015 showcase the most inspirational regional initiatives and developments in land, property, construction and the environment, celebrating the achievements of professionals working in both the built and natural environment.
