A Fife housing project, designed to trail new alternative methods of construction, has been shortlisted for two prizes in the annual Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor (RICS) Awards.

Each year, the RICS Awards focus on Britain's most inspirational regional initiatives and developments in land, property, construction and the environment.

This year, the £3.3m Housing Innovation Showcase, which is a joint initiative by Kingdom Housing Association and Fife Council, has been nominated in the 'Residential' and 'Innovation and Design' categories.

The project produced 27 high quality houses at a site in Dunlin Drive, Dunfermaline.

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Last year, more than 2,500 construction and housing professionals visited the Fife showcase to see the new homes which were built by ten different construction partnerships which used modern methods of construction of build energy-efficient homes.

The initiative subsequently went on to win a Scottish Green Apple Award for 'Environmental Best Practice' and a Green VIBE award. It was also recognised in the Scottish Home awards and the Fife Partnership Excellence Awards.

Bill Banks, Depute Chief Executive with Kingdom, said: "We are delighted that the Housing Innovation Showcase has been shortlisted for the prestigious RICS awards. It is further recognition of all the hard work put in by everyone involved from all of the organisations and companies that took part.

"The aim of the project was to demonstrate how alternative construction systems and new technologies could be mainstreamed into future projects and we feel this has been achieved."

The RICS will reveal the final award winners at a ceremony in Edinburgh on 9 May.

(JP)