TWO East Lothian housing projects have scooped top prizes at a national awards ceremony.

Conversion of the Year went to Lorn Macneal Architects for St Andrews Court, Main Street, Gullane – formerly the eyesore Templar Lodge Hotel building – while CALA Homes’ MacRae house at its Gilsland Grange development at North Berwick collected the Show Home of the Year at the Scottish Home Awards.

Four-hundred guests attended the event, held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) to recognise the best new homes across the country.

Lorn Macneal, owner of the Gullane site and architect of the scheme, was delighted to pick up the award against some “very stiff opposition”, adding: “St Andrews Court has at last been completed after three years, during which time it has undergone a quite remarkable journey from a sadly dishevelled blot on the streetscape back to its rightful and proud position in the heart of the village.

“During my 30 years in practice few projects have instilled in me a greater sense of achievement and satisfaction, where I can say I have had nothing but support and kind praise from within the Gullane community for all we set out to achieve.

“We now have 14 of the 16 apartments in occupancy, with a eclectic mix of local and overseas ownership, most of which share a common interest: golf. “With the development now completed, I still spend as much time at St Andrews Court enjoying friendships and enjoying the apartment we have retained.” Meanwhile, CALA Homes was also celebrating after scooping two awards, including Show Home of the Year for the MacRae house in North Berwick.

CALA Homes’ Sarah Stanger said: “East Lothian consistently comes up as one of the finest places to live in the UK and North Berwick is the jewel in East Lothian’s crown. So we had no doubt that developing Gilsland Grange was a rare opportunity to create homes fitting for a town that so many people agree is an amazing place to live.

“When it came to creating a show home we were determined it should properly reflect everything that this part of the world has to offer – not just ice cream on the beach, but all the colour and character of living on this lovely stretch of the coastline.”