<b><b>Some years ago private sector developers were criticised at the Housing Design Awards for a lack of imagination - now private schemes dominate the event. HouseBuilder reports on this year's winners </b></b><br><b> This year's Housing Design Awards have seen a significant rise in the number of private sector entries. </b><br><b><b>Private sector prestige</b></b><br> Of the 194 schemes submitted, two thirds came from housebuilders, marking their increasing recognition of the prestige the annual awards can bring. And a similar proportion of the 14 awards made this year went to privately developed schemes or to projects involving private/public partnerships. <p></p><p>The awards are sponsored and judged by the DETR (now the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions), the National House-Building Council, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). This year's awards, held at the RIBA on July 5, were presented by Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the new minister for housing.</p><p> Entry is open to developments of four or more dwellings in England and Northern Ireland, in two categories - &amp;"project&amp;", which must have detailed planning permission, or &amp;"completed&amp;" schemes. The overriding criterion is design excellence - internal, external and in the overall layout. </p><p>And while the …