Our flagship Woodgate scheme – delivered in partnership with housing provider Abri – recently took Silver in the Best Partnership Scheme category at this year’s WhatHouse? Awards. Located near Pease Pottage, West Sussex, Woodgate is a contemporary village of 619 energy-efficient homes that serves as an exemplar of quality housebuilding and community creation.
For over four decades, the WhatHouse? Awards have recognised the very best in housebuilding. Winning a WhatHouse? award is a symbol of prestige and excellence, honouring enterprising, customer-focused housebuilders and their partners, housing associations and the supply chain to produce top-quality housing across all price ranges.
The design of the homes at Woodgate particularly impressed judges at this year’s WhatHouse? Awards. Among the stand-out original designs at the development that caught the judges’ attention were the Villas on the Green, which draw heavily on Edwardian, Georgian and Scandinavian influences. Emphasising the importance of shared living spaces, the two-storey villas include an upstairs living room that look out over Woodgate’s central village green.
Another characteristic of the houses at Woodgate that wowed the judges is energy efficiency. Taking the typical U-values of their main external walls, a Woodgate home is four times more energy-efficient than a 1970s house. This is achieved through innovative measures including windows with low-emissivity glass to regulate sunlight and maintain comfort, whole-house ventilation systems that purify the air and electric vehicle charging points on many plots.
Judges for the WhatHouse? Awards were also full of praise for the extensive consultations we undertook with Abri to ensure Woodgate addressed the needs of future residents and nearby communities before any bricks were even laid. The subsequent delivery of community-focused services and amenities, including the new Woodgate Primary School, £7 million of infrastructure improvements, the groundbreaking community-owned shop run by local residents, Woodgate Community Hub and new St Catherine’s Hospice were also highlighted as exemplary.
Commenting on our success at this year’s WhatHouse? Awards, our Head of Partnerships Stuart Fullwood said: “We’re delighted that our Woodgate development with Abri has been recognised with such a prestigious award, picking up Silver for Best Partnership Scheme. Woodgate has already showcased how to enrich rural communities while providing much-needed homes that cater for all lifestyles and life stages. The community that has formed there is truly exceptional and will make a real positive difference to people’s lives for generations to come.”
Stuart Hensby, Director of Sales and Marketing at Abri, added:
“This award highlights the strength of collaboration and the impact of a partnership driven approach. Together, we've not only delivered much-needed homes but also created community-centred amenities that foster connections and support the long-term development of Woodgate. Our shared commitment to quality, sustainability, and the well-being of our customers has made this accomplishment possible, and we look forward to continuing this journey of growth and partnership with Thakeham.”