A RIVERSIDE construction project has beaten dozens of rival schemes to win a major regeneration award.

The £30m Freeman’s Reach project, which aims to breathe new life into Durham’s riverside won the regeneration category at the 2017 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Awards North-East, held in Newcastle on Friday night.

The development provides a new home for Durham’s Passport Office and National Savings and Investments staff and is the UK’s first city centre development to incorporate a hydro-power generator, which provides 75 per cent of the buildings’ energy requirements from the Wear.

Judges praised the development for being the catalyst for further regeneration, with a £120 million transformation of nearby Millburngate House.

Adam Serfontein, chair of the judging panel, said: “Freeman’s Reach is an exemplary built scheme that is already having a positive impact on its local community and actively helping to ensure Durham is one of the most vibrant places to live, work and visit”.

“The team behind it should be incredibly proud as they have shown just what is achievable with vision and an innovative approach to collaboration.”

Freeman’s Reach will now represent the region at the national Rics Awards held in London in November.