RETIREMENT specialist McCarthy & Stone has been voted one of Britain’s favourite builders - twice over. This is the result of an independent MORI poll and the British House Builder Awards.

McCarthy & Stone has two major developments in Kent: Woodlands Court in Walderslade Village and Brookfield Court in Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells.

In the British House Builder Awards, hosted at the Grovesnor House Hotel in London by GMTV star Penny Smith, McCarthy & Stone won gold in the medium-sized house builder section, claiming a clean sweep across all levels of 11 categories contested.

The decision was reached by asking customers about important aspects of service like helpfulness of staff and after-sales care.

The MORI poll for the Department of the Environment gives McCarthy & Stone a top star-rating in every measurable category, which puts the company up there with the best of all housebuilders.

The survey of 54 builders was conducted among their most recent customers and presents its findings by a star-rating system.

McCarthy & Stone gained the maximum three stars in every one of the six categories that were considered statistically valid.

It gave McCarthy & Stone a top rating in overall quality; construction and finish; customer satisfaction; condition on moving day; after-sales service; and likelihood of recommending the builder.