Lovell has sponsored a fundraising gingerbread house competition which is being displayed at a Newcastle art gallery during December.

The housebuilder is the headline sponsor of the Gingerbread Street challenge organised by Oasis Community Housing, which supports people facing homelessness and works to prevent homelessness.

As part of the competition, businesses ‘bought’ plots on the street and built gingerbread houses or other buildings to be placed within it, with the aim of creating a gingerbread community to meet the needs of all its residents.

The winning gingerbread designs were chosen on Tuesday 3 December by a panel of judges including architect and TV presenter George Clarke, Phil Jones, Head of Land and Partnerships at Lovell, and Roisin Currie, CEO of Greggs.

Prizes were awarded for best overall build for large, medium and small plots, as well as a ‘community champion’ prize for partnership working with a local school, college, university of community group, and a ‘people’s choice’ award determined by public voting throughout the exhibition period.

Gingerbread Street will be on public display at The Biscuit Factory art gallery in Stoddart Street until Friday 27 December.

A series of workshops with local schools have also been run in parallel to the initiative by Oasis Community Housing and the educational charity MOBIE – which was founded by George Clarke and is chaired by Mary Parsons, National Regeneration and Partnerships Director for Lovell. These workshops have raised awareness of homelessness with pupils designing temporary shelters that could be used by people sleeping rough, which have also been displayed at The Biscuit Factory.

Gingerbread Street is part of Oasis Community Housing’s ‘Giving a Home Christmas Appeal’.

Hazel Ditchburn, from Oasis Community Housing, who organised the event, said: “As we head into a cold winter, we’re all juggling the cost-of-living crisis – but, for some, it will push them over the edge into homelessness. Latest figures already show homelessness at an all-time high and we fear things will only get worse.

“Our Christmas appeal provides the financial foundation for our next year’s homelessness service, meaning every penny donated goes towards making a life-changing difference for the 1,300-plus people who walk through our doors each year.”

Oasis Community Housing, which was set up in 1984, works to prevent homelessness and support people facing homelessness in the North East and London. It supported more than 1,300 people in housing crisis between September 2023 and August 2024.

Lovell has been a sponsor partner of Oasis Community Housing since March 2023 and since then has raised more than £36,000 for the charity.

Phil Jones, Head of Land and Partnerships for Lovell, said: “We at the North East region of Lovell are proud of our ongoing relationship with the brilliant team at Oasis Community Housing and are keen to support the amazing work they do whenever we can. By being the main sponsor of the Gingerbread Street exhibition and competition, we are helping to fund a project which aims to raise awareness of homelessness as well as raising funds for the charity’s vital work.

“All of the confectionery constructions have been built by local teams and we were really impressed by the wonderful designs they have managed to create. We hope that by seeing the display of the gingerbread street in the art gallery, people will be reminded that there are people out there who do not have a home and need help.”

The Gingerbread Street judging event included live music from the Ryton Singers and a raffle, with all proceeds going to Oasis Community Housing’s Giving a Home Christmas Appeal.