Top award for £17m centre

Chadderton Wellbeing Centre: green award

Chadderton Wellbeing Centre’s green credentials have helped the building scoop a top award for sustainability, staving off competition from projects across the North-West.

One of 49 shortlisted projects, the £17 million building has won one of the 2010 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) awards — the property and construction sector’s Oscars.

The strikingly modern building, which opened last November, boasts a 25-metre eco-swimming pool, a gym, community rooms, a cafe and a library.

But it is the innovative energy-efficient heating system that helped the project win the prestigious gong.

Chairman of the regional judging panel Andrew Kellaway said: “RICS judges were impressed by the use of the latest environmental technologies.

“This includes a combined heat and power unit which uses waste product bio-oil — such as local waste cooking oil — to provide a minimum of 70 per cent of the building’s electricity and heat requirements. The centre makes a strong sustainability statement.”

The Gorton Educational Village in Manchester was also among the winners which will battle it out to win the overall title of Project of the Year.