Award recognition for councils’ building control team
The Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards take place every year recognising quality, competence and a commitment to driving up standards across the construction industry.
In the East Anglia Region for the 2026 awards, Babergh and Mid Suffolk had winners in 10 categories, including the Local Authority Registered Building Inspector of the Year award which was given to Area Registered Building Inspectors, Sarah Fanning and Tony Fitch.
The full list of awards was:
• Best Residential Extension - Oaktree, Suffolk
• Best Conversion to a Single New Home - Cornwallis House, Suffolk
• Best Individual New Home - Burder House, Suffolk
• Best Residential and Small Commercial Designer - Wright Ruffell Cameron Ltd
• Best Residential and Small Commercial Builder - M Chisnall & Sons Ltd
• Best Medium Volume New Housing Development - The Paddocks, Suffolk
• Best Non-residential New Build - The Crown, Suffolk
• Local Authority Registered Building Inspector of the Year - Sarah Fanning
• Local Authority Registered Building Inspector of the Year Tony Fitch
• Best Partnership with a Local Authority Building Control Team - Wright Ruffell Cameron Ltd with Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils
The councils were also highly commended for:
• Best Individual New Home - Owlswick, Suffolk
Cllr Sallie Davies, cabinet member for heritage, planning and infrastructure at Babergh District Council, said: “I am thrilled that our building control team has received recognition for some of the excellent work that they carry out – in particular, the two council officers who were named Building Inspector of the Year.
“We know that our team is doing a great job but it’s always great to receive awards which recognise this.”
Cllr Andrew Stringer, cabinet member for heritage, planning and infrastructure at Mid Suffolk District Council, said: “Our building control team are committed to providing the highest possible standards and this raft of awards wins shows that we are doing exactly that and highlights what fantastic talents we have here in our district.”
Winners from the regional awards are automatically entered into the LABC Grand Finals with an awards ceremony due to take place on Friday 22 January in London.
More information on the award, including a full list of winners, can be found on the LABC website.
