Law firm Michelmores has launched its prestigious 2025 Property Awards, marking 22 years of celebrating the best property, development and construction projects across the South West.
The awards have long-championed sustainability and innovation by placing social, environmental, sustainable and economic values at the heart of the judging criteria. 
Bristol, where Michelmores relocated and expanded its office last year, has featured strongly in the competition and the firm is keen to encourage more entrants from the city and surrounding area.
Bristol’s Neighbourhood North scheme, pictured below, replaced the former 1980s Quayside development on Temple Way, topped the Regeneration Project of the Year category at last year’s awards.
The scheme, which transformed the headquarter office building to give it a BREEAM outstanding rating, demonstrated that the retrofit and delivery of state-of-the-art office space can be commercially attractive.
The transformation of Bristol Beacon, the city’s Grade II-listed concert, was also among last year’s finalists while The Wave, the ground-breaking inland surfing attraction at Easter Compton, and the four-storey, 136-home Copper Building development at Lakeshore, South Bristol, won in previous years. 
The awards, which have become a fixture of the region’s business calendar, demonstrate the property sector’s commitment to embrace sustainability not just in developing new low carbon buildings, but by innovations in the approach to refurbishing and repurposing older stock.
They also showcase the entrants’ commitment to social value and community engagement, especially those with an approach that extends beyond construction, including ongoing community support through partnerships with local organisations.
The nine categories range cover education, leisure, heritage, regeneration and residential projects as well as championing the project of the year and building of the year.
Michelmores head of property Emma Honey told the launch event at the firm’s Bristol office that many previous finalists had caught the eye for their sustainability and social credentials.
“Michelmores has a strong legacy of supporting ESG [economic, social and governance] values, through its work with clients, collaborating with our communities or preserving our planet’s finite resources,” she added.
“This year, we are especially looking forward to welcoming projects with sustainability and community thoughtfulness in mind.
“It’s clear that the South West continues to be a heavyweight when it comes to innovation and ambition too, and we have seen exceptional projects that lead the way in commercial, residential, and regenerated building projects. I am excited to see what’s coming this year.”
Michelmores Bristol office head and transactional real estate team partner Paul Beanlands, described the awards as “reputable and inspiring” and continuing to go from strength-to-strength, with the awards ceremony itself bringing together key players from across the industry for a night to remember.
“This year we are particularly encouraging Bristol-based projects to participate,” he added.
“As head of Michelmores’ Bristol office, I can vouch for the dynamism of the South West’s largest and arguably most exciting city for the property sector.
“Our judges look for those who are engaged in making these projects truly remarkable, whether through regeneration of an existing building or an entirely new scheme – and I am eager to see some of this years’ most impressive submissions.”
He said one of the awards’ key strengths was the independent judging panel, which is drawn from across the property sector.
One of the panel, Ron Persaud, founder of Change Real Estate – which has been involved in a number of major Bristol construction and renovation projects – told the launch that the judging process was very robust and thorough while the awards ceremony was a highlight of the year for the industry.
Unusually for an awards scheme of its kind, small-but-impactful community projects were judged alongside multi-million pound schemes, he said.
The deadline for submission is Friday 21 February.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 2 July at Sandy Park Conference Centre, Exeter.
For more information about awards and the ceremony, including sponsorship opportunities, table bookings and how to submit, visit www.michelmores.com/propertyawards.
Michelmores employs more than 450 people across its network of four offices, including around 120 in Bristol.
