Enniskillen: South West College named UK Project of the Year

Judges said the £34m campus overcame "many obstacles" to be built

The South West College campus in Enniskillen has been named the UK Project of the Year by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

At the RICS' annual awards ceremony in London, the site also won the national Public Sector Project prize.

The college was awarded the same regional award earlier in the year.

The awards celebrate built projects that have a significant positive impact on the communities they serve.

The Erne campus is built to the highest environmental standards in construction and was the first educational building in the world to achieve both PassivHaus Premium and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) accreditations.

Judges said the £34m campus had overcome "many obstacles" to be built.

"The project also scores highly in the social value," they said.

"Not only has it generated a centre for excellence for local students of the built environment as a core curriculum subject, it has also raised the profile and the pride in all its inhabitants and neighbours in an area that has suffered much in recent times."

The construction methods and the systems in place in the building are expected to deliver a 90% reduction in energy costs for the college.

It is powered by solar panels on the roof and uses a heat recovery system with triple-glazed automatic windows to help control indoor temperature and ventilation.

During the international climate conference COP26 in Glasgow last year, the campus was recognised as a UN Centre of Excellence for High Performance Buildings.

There are 800 full-time students, 2,000 part-time students and 120 staff using the campus on the former Erne Hospital site in Enniskillen.

The college moved there from the 50-year old building at Gaol Square in the town, which was recently listed for sale.