SURF is pleased to announce the ‘20th Anniversary’ 2018 shortlist for our prestigious national awards scheme, which showcases success in responding to regeneration challenges in communities across Scotland.

The SURF Awards are delivered each year by SURF – Scotland’s Regeneration Forum, in partnership with the Scottish Government.

Having assessed more than 65 applications across five categories, SURF’s panel of 20 judges, drawn from national bodies and community groups, have agreed upon 15 shortlisted projects for 2018. By category, they are:

 Housing:

  • Park Ecovillage Trust West Whins Affordable Flats (Forres)
  • Brand Street/Harvie Street, Cessnock (Glasgow)
  • Chapelpark: A New Beginning (Forfar, Angus)

Youth Employability: Overcoming Barriers:

  • Pathfinder Programme (Yoker, Glasgow)
  • Kingdom Works (Glenrothes, Fife)
  • Pathway to Success (East Renfrewshire)

 Creative Regeneration:

  • WHALE Arts (Wester Hailes)
  • Reachout: Creative Communities (Alloa)
  • Findhorn Bay Arts (Forres)

 Community Led Regeneration:

  • Creetown Initiative (Dumfires and Galloway)
  • Papay Community Cooperative (Papa Westray, Orkney)
  • St Paul’s Youth Forum (Glasgow)

Scotland’s Most Improved Place:

  • Dundee Central Waterfront
  • Westray Development Trust (Orkney)
  • Fort William High Street

Since 1998, the SURF Awards have identified successful regeneration projects of all sizes from across Scotland. This year‘s shortlisted projects feature major place-making investments, youth employability initiatives, and activities delivered by community groups and arts organisations in both urban and rural contexts.

Over the coming weeks, the judging panel will be visiting all of these diverse projects to develop a better understanding of their impact and the situations they are responding to.

The five category winners will then be announced by Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Aileen Campbell MSP, on the evening of Thursday 6 December at the 2018 SURF Awards Presentation Dinner event in Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel. We are delighted to be joined by Actor and Director Iain Robertson as our After Dinner Speaker.

The 2018 SURF Awards are delivered by SURF in partnership with the Scottish Government, with additional support from Architecture & Design Scotland, Creative Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scotland’s Towns Partnership, and Skills Development Scotland.