Gold award tops a year of achievements for Essex-based housebuilder
Posted 19/11/2019
An Essex-based housebuilder, Higgins Homes, has added to its hugely successful year with a Gold award for the Best Development at the prestigious WhatHouse? awards. Often referred to as the ‘Oscars of the housebuilding industry’, the event is the largest in the country and celebrates the very best new homes.
The host of this year’s awards at the Marriott Grosvenor House was astronaut Major Tim Peake together with comedian and television presenter Dara O’Briain. The judges awarded Gold to The Reserve, a development by Higgins Homes in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, after being tasked to find new homes that lifted the bar above the ordinary. The judges looked for developments that offered a stylish mix of original designs, top quality site layout and landscaping, a variety of external elevations and plenty of design flair both inside and out.
The Reserve is an exclusive development of 90 homes of three, four and five bedrooms located on the edge of Lee Valley Regional Park. It forms a stunning gateway into the Lea Valley Regional Park with detached villas in a curved form. The judges commented on the well-defined formal avenue of dwellings, creating an intriguing and innovative layout that gives good progression towards the park and a sense of place.
The judges applauded Higgins Homes on overcoming the challenges of the existing site and creating a variety of house types, each with contrasting elevational treatments that work excellently together in a crisp, contemporary way, with the subtle differences helping character identity.
The judges were impressed with the interiors, which are designed as blank canvases to allow residents maximum flexibility. The open-plan living with large patio windows connecting out to garden spaces, also provide residents with a sense of well-being.
“This is the crowning glory of what has been an incredible year for The Reserve,” says Jeremy Marcus, Sales & Marketing Director at Higgins Homes. “The response from buyers, the public and the industry has been fantastic and reflects the efforts from everyone involved in the creation of The Reserve.”
The Reserve has won a number of other awards including the Building Futures Awards in Hertfordshire, First Time Buyer Reader’s Awards for Best Architecture, Highly Commended in the Best Family House category in the Evening Standard Awards and winner of the Best out of London Home in the Evening Standard Awards.
Praise was given to Higgins Homes on not just the appearance of the development but also for its sustainable credentials including an urban drainage system that encourages biodiversity and helps wildlife to flourish. The environment is not just good for local wildlife, it also allows residents and the wider community the opportunity to enjoy features such as wetland areas including ponds and swales.
The Reserve is the perfect combination of idyllic countryside on the doorstep with excellent commutability into the capital. The development is less than a ten-minute walk from Waltham Cross rail station, which is in Zone 7, and only a 26-minute train trip to Liverpool Street and just 21-minutes to Stratford, allowing buyers the best of both worlds.
There are only have three houses remaining on this award-winning development. The five bedroom Linnet is priced at £695,000 and part-exchange is available
