“Small in scale – huge in impact” - multiple awards spotlight Highgate Newtown Community Centre as a benchmark for socially responsive development - CIP

We’re proud to share that Highgate Newtown Community Centre (HNCC) has recently been recognised at four regional and national awards ceremonies: 

• Overall Winner at the 2025 NLA Awards on 20 November, where it was recognised for its contribution to community life.  

• Best Housing Development £20m+ at the Inside Housing Awards for demonstrating what can be achieved when community voices guide design.   

• Best Community and Faith Project at the 2025 AJ Architects Journal Awards. 

• Spotlighted as a Regional Finalist at the 2026 Civic Trust Awards and 2026 Selwyn Goldsmith Universal Design Awards. 

Judges at the NLA Awards commented that the centre “gives us a huge amount of hope for the future. Small in scale – huge in impact, it’s a generous, beautiful, charming and wonderful project” and “Highgate Newtown Community Centre shows what’s possible when London redesigns its neighbourhoods around the changing needs of its people.” 

Delivered by our Community Investment Programme (CIP) and RCKa, the project has transformed the old community centre in Dartmouth Park near Highgate into 36 new council homes and a new state-of-the-art community centre that includes a flexible-use sports hall, cafe area, and a lounge which hosts a hairdresser, laundrette, and a cookery school.   

Winning this award is a testament to the collaboration enabled by CIP, allowing us to work together with our partners and communities to create spaces that provide our residents with the foundations to thrive.  

Explore some of our other developments here.