Admiralty Quarter recognised in RTPI planning awards

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has announced the winners of its 2009 South East Regional Planning Awards, celebrating the best of planning across the region. Admiralty Quarter (AQ), by Crest Nicholson Regeneration, is the winner of the City, Town and Metropolitan areas category, having been entered by Portsmouth City Council.

The awards were assessed on a variety of measures, including how schemes enhanced the physical environment, how they addressed all aspects of sustainable development, the originality of the achievement or approach; quality of the professional work involved, and the extent to which the achievement may serve as a model for work elsewhere. The schemes that were awarded prizes highlight the sheer diversity of great planning and regeneration taking place all across the South East of England.

Adjacent to the Historic Dockyard and a short walk to Portsmouth city centre, the development consists of 17 individual apartment blocks ranging from four to eight storeys. At its heart is a private courtyard garden of nearly an acre which conceals underground parking for residents. A number of the remaining apartments offer stunning views of the harbour and the spectacular 22-storey Admiralty Tower, in which the apartments have now all sold, forms a focal point for the development and gives Portsmouth a spectacular new landmark.

Debbie Aplin, Managing Director of Crest Nicholson Regeneration comments: “AQ has attracted significant attention this year as being an outstanding place to live. This latest award recognises the commitment we have given to build this development to the highest standards possible right from the planning stage, taking into account our commitment to high design standards, good place-making and sustainable development in areas that can potentially benefit from regeneration schemes of this nature.”

The judges also commented on the scheme: “An outstanding inner city regeneration project. Investing in a significantly deprived inner city ward takes courage. The solution integrates well. It serves as a beacon and marks a further stage in the regeneration of the area.”

The development has now reached the finals of the national planning awards. The winners will be announced on February 4th 2010.

AQ is also well connected, with train services out of Portsmouth Harbour station just a few minutes walk away, providing high-speed links into London Waterloo in an hour and a half, and mainland Europe just a ferry-ride away.