A MEDICAL surgery from County Durham has been named alongside St Paul’s Cathedral and a university in Australia in winning a global construction award.

Sacriston Surgery won the international award for community benefit at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS ) Awards, held in London, after winning the North-East regional final earlier in the year.

The £4.4m green development, created by architect Howarth Litchfield Partnership, beat competition from around the world to win the accolade, due to innovative design features including geothermal heating from boreholes sunk 35 metres beneath the car park, and a solar panel to take heat from the tarmac on hot days.

Three other North-East projects – Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema, Middlesbrough College and the Zebra Project, in Alnwick, Northumberland – were also shortlisted in the awards, after winning the regional Renaissance Awards.

Other winners in the awards included a £40m renovation at St Paul’s Cathedral, which had the overall project of the year. Bond University in Australia won an accolade for sustainability, and the Liverpool ONE retail development won the retail development category.