Three leading property projects have been nominated for the one of the most prestigious prizes in the UK property sector.

Projects included in the West Midlands section of the 2009 RICS Awards include schemes such as the Rotunda, West Midlands Fire Service’s H.Q Relocation Project, and The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre.

Despite the challenging economic conditions for many property professionals, the awards this year have seen a record number of projects submitted for consideration.

The RICS Awards scheme, which was established in 1990 to reward a diversity of projects that impact on the built and natural environment, consist of four categories: building conservation; regeneration; sustainability; and community benefit – which has proved to be the most popular category in the awards this year.

Representing a wide spectrum of organisations and projects from around the world, the 363 national entrants range from schemes built by a single person, to multi-million budget, globally recognised developments.

Entries have been submitted from universities, local and national governments, private sector developers and national bodies.

In addition to the high volume of UK entries, projects from Australia, Spain, Belgium, France and Hungary have also been submitted.

The projects will be set to compete in a ‘regional heat,’ with the best entrants in each region forming the shortlist for the grand final awards.

Details of shortlisted entries for the West Midlands round of the awards are set to be released in April, with the winners announced on 14 May. Regional winners then go through to the national final in October.

The categories are broad enough to ensure that every aspect of urban and rural regeneration is recognised.

Value for money is fundamental to the success of every winning project, regardless of scale, in respect of both capital expenditure and lifetime running costs.

The awards celebrate the best new projects in the built environment and the 2009 winners will join a long line of inspirational building projects.

Past winners in the West Midlands include recognised projects such as Birmingham Town Hall.

Other winners were Urban Splash’s Fort Dunlop building in Birmingham – the home of the Birmingham Post – the Fairfield site in Worcester and The Priory Family Centre in Wednesbury.

Debbie Walsh, head of public policy and communications for RICS West Midlands, said: “With a record number of entries overall this year the competition is even stronger.”

The 2008 awards raised the benchmark in all categories and this year’s successful entrants in the West Midlands will need to prove that their schemes demonstrate excellence within their specific category.

“RICS members are a vital link in delivering a low carbon built environment. Increasing economic return, sustaining the natural environment and protecting social values are not incompatible with this. The RICS awards provide a perfect opportunity to demonstrate this in action.”

The RICS covers all aspects of land, property, construction and associated environmental issues and has 140,000 members globally and represents, regulates and promotes the work of property professionals throughout 140 countries.