Care home up for internationally-acclaimed award

An extra care scheme for older residents in Lewisham is a finalist in two internationally acclaimed awards.

Established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment, the Civic Trust Awards recognise projects that have made a positive contribution to the local communities they serve.

Hazelhurst Court, in Beckenham Hill,, the first residential development by Phoenix Community Housing, is in the running for the 2020 Civic Trust Awards and for the Selwyn Goldsmiths Awards for Universal Design.

With funding from the Mayor of London and Lewisham council, and working with architects Levitt Bernstein, Phoenix built 60 one and two-bed extra care homes next to existing properties for older people at Hazelhurst Court.

The homes are designed to allow older people to live independently in secure and comfortable accommodation within their communities and established networks of friends, family and neighbours. The first residents moved into their homes in November 2017.

The scheme also incorporates communal areas, including a kitchen and dining area, garden room and lounge area and a shared courtyard.

Lesley Johnson, Phoenix’s director of property and new business, said: “We are delighted to have been notified that we’re are a finalist in these prestigious awards.

“We are committed not only to building new homes, but to building new homes of the highest quality. Hazelhurst Court is a magnificent development and provides residents with excellent, secure and comfortable homes to live in.”

It is not the first time Hazelhurst Court has been recognised, having previously won awards at the Housing Design Awards 2018, RIBA London Awards 2018 and Inside Housing Development Awards 2018.

The Civic Trust Awards Ceremony takes place on Friday, March 6 at the Imperial War Museum North in Trafford, Manchester. All finalists will find out on the night if they have won a national award or been highly commended.