The developer behind The Island Quarter is celebrating today after picking up the Developer of the Year prize at the East Midlands Property Awards.

The Conygar Investment Company beat off competition from the likes of Bildurn, St James Securities and Harworth Group to secure the prize, topping off a year of incredible progress at The Island Quarter.

Having completed the site’s opening phase in September 2022, work has progressed across the development at pace, with Phase 2A – comprising nearly 700 beds of purpose-built student accommodation – set for handover in summer 2024.

The year also saw an updated masterplan for the site launched at UKREiiF, alongside a successful planning application for 245,000 sq ft of bioscience space on the 36-acre site’s northern edge.

Christopher Ware, property director at Conygar, said: “Almost a year to the day since Binks Yard first opened its doors, this award is testament to everyone that has helped The Island Quarter reach not just the point we’re at today, but what we’re looking to achieve in the coming years.

“This category always has a strong field, particularly given the quality of development that is taking place across the East Midlands at the moment, so to take home this award is a real honour and something that will give us even greater impetus to continue bringing this development forward.”

The award’s judges paid homage to Conygar social return on investment of 53% – achieved by hiring 150 locally to date on 1 The Island Quarter and the wider project delivery team.

The development has also generated £6m in local spend and provided employment for 35 people from disadvantaged backgrounds.