A pioneering regeneration scheme which is opening up a six mile riverside corridor through Morpeth has beaten off stiff competition to scoop a prestigious national award.
Members of the Castles, Woods and Water project team were joint winners with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers Scotland of the ‘Cleaner Safer Greener’ Award at the Sustainable Communities Awards 2006, held in London. They beat four other shortlisted entries including Birmingham City Council’s Street Champions and Blackpool Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Environmental Action Team.
The Defra-backed award recognises projects which focus on making neighbourhoods cleaner, safer and greener to improve quality of life, for example by creating safer and better used parks and public spaces or reducing litter and graffiti, with a key emphasis on consideration for the environment.
Judges said they were looking for schemes which link a healthier and better quality of life with the preservation of wildlife and green spaces, such as through community planning and development, local youth projects or anti-crime initiatives. The Government says its Cleaner Safer Greener Communities initiative is about creating quality spaces in which people want to live and can be proud - and which others will respect.
Coun Glen Sanderson, Castles, Woods and Water Champion, said: “You only have to look at the other entrants we were up against, which include the biggest local authority in Europe, to see how big an achievement this is for Castle Morpeth.
“Everyone connected with the Castles, Woods and Water scheme, including Borough Council staff, other partner organisations and members of the public – all of whom have worked so hard - should feel extremely proud today.”
The Castles, Woods and Water scheme was launched after Castle Morpeth Borough Council won £2.6 million ‘Liveability’ funding in early 2004 from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as one of only 27 pilot schemes in the country out of nearly 400 applicants.
The project is revamping the area from Mitford to Bothal, with investment in renewable energy, footpath restoration, sporting and leisure facilities, signage and interpretation, woodland enterprises and flood defence, among others.
It is also concentrating on introducing innovative new approaches to service delivery, including the use of the latest technology to quickly tackle flytipping and other environmental vandalism. Hand-held GIS computers and mobile, miniature CCTV cameras are among the tools at the authority’s disposal, along with a rapid response team.
The first project delivered on the ground saw the skatepark in Carlisle Park, Morpeth, opened last July.
More than 1,000 local residents have had input into Castles, Woods and Water in a series of public events during the consultation process, and the access strategy has been praised during a visit by Paralympic Gold Medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.
For more information on the awards, see the website at:
www.cleanersafergreener.gov.uk
