A DEVELOPMENT of the first council homes to be built in Minehead for more than 30 years has been shortlisted for a prestigious property award.

The Rainbow Way housing estate, off Seaward Way, is being built by contractors Classic Builders for Somerset Council.

The first of the 54 new homes were occupied last year and the remainder are being developed in phases, with the next batch due to become available this month.

All the properties are for social rent and comprise a mix of 33 flats and 21 houses, with two, three, and four-bedroom houses and one or two-bedroom apartments.

Now, the development has been nominated along with four others for the regional residential project of the year (36 homes and over) category of the Michelmores Property Awards 2025.

New council homes in Minehead's Rainbow Way should be completed by summer 2024.
New council homes in Minehead's Rainbow Way have been nominated for a regional property award. PHOTO: Somerset Council.

The awards showcase the best property, construction, and development projects across the Westcountry.

A spokesperson for Michelmores said: “The awards celebrate excellence and innovation, bringing together professionals from the region to highlight the outstanding achievements in the property sector over the past year.

“Now in its 22nd year, the Michelmores Property Awards continue to champion the most sustainable, impactful, and creative developments.

“The awards place an emphasis on sustainability, innovation, and the broader positive impact of projects within their communities.”

The spokesperson said Rainbow Way was a ‘pioneering sustainable housing scheme that champions the use of modern methods of construction (MMC) products and local labour to create efficient and affordable housing’.

They said: “Its use of design, materials, regional expertise and knowledge firmly embed it in the region’s history of ground-breaking building projects.

“The scheme’s commitment to accountability, building excellence, resident comfort, and long-term sustainability ensure a high standard of housing on the development.”

The first new home on the Rainbow Way development in Minehead is nearing completion.
One of the first new homes to be completed on the Rainbow Way development in Minehead. ( )

This year’s Michelmores shortlist includes 10 high profile projects from Bristol, Somerset, and Gloucestershire, and represents a wide range of schemes across various categories, from regeneration and education to residential and leisure developments.

The spokesperson said: “With categories designed to capture the diversity and excellence of South West development, the awards reflect the increasing importance of sustainable and socially responsible architecture.

“The awards encompass nine categories, and the judging panel comprises esteemed professionals from various sectors within the property industry.”

Winners will be announced at a gala dinner and ceremony to be held in the Sandy Park Conference Centre, Exeter, on Wednesday, July 2.

Other nominations in the category being contested by Rainbow Way are Treveth’s Gwel Basset 185-house brownfield low-carbon development in Tolgus, Cornwall, One Lockleaze, Bristol, where Goram Homes, part of the Vistry Group, is building 268 high-quality, sustainable homes on a brownfield site, a second Classic Builders development, this time in Newquay for Coastline Housing, with a ground source heat pump array providing heating to 145 homes, and Edenstone Homes’ luxury, sustainable residential development The Orchards, in Sampford Peverell, Devon.

The judges, who are independent of Michelmores, have already visited all of the shortlisted developments to discuss the merits of each project against the category criteria and score them accordingly.