2005 awards for sustainable communities
The Attwood Green regeneration project in Birmingham has won the Deputy Prime Minister’s Award for Sustainable Communities 2005.
Attwood Green has been turned around following £50m Estate Renewal Challenge Funding. 1,150 properties have been refurbished, and 2,000 new homes are being built along with a new landscaped park, commercial space including a hotel, community facilities and transport improvements.
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| Attwood Green, Birmingham |
Last year’s winner and finalists will also be sharing their expertise at a one day national conference Sustainable Communities: Vision Into Reality at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster on Friday 31 March 2006.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said: ‘The successful regeneration at Attwood Green shows what really can be achieved when people come together to improve their local environment and turn a formerly run down estate into an exciting and attractive place to live and work. Crucial to that success is the involvement of the local residents who can feel justifiably proud of this great achievement.
‘The tremendous response to this year’s award demonstrates the scale of activity in creating thriving sustainable communities across the country. I also congratulate the three other finalists and the ten projects receiving special recognition.’
The Deputy Prime Minister’s Award for Sustainable Communities recognises projects and initiatives that contribute to making towns, cities and communities, including those in rural areas, better places in which to live and work. They pay tribute to those people whose commitment and enthusiasm are making a significant contribution towards the building of thriving and successful communities.
The three other finalists were:
- Springhill Co-housing Community, Stroud, Gloucestershire;
- A New Deal for Braunstone, Leicester;
- From Survival to Sustainability: Taking Pride In Gravesham (part of the Thames Gateway), Gravesend, Kent.
The ten commended projects are:
- Botton Village, near Whitby, North Yorkshire
- East Oxford Action
- Invermead Close, Hammersmith, London
- Parkfield and Mill Lane Neighbourhood Management Project in Stockton-on-Tees
- Parson's Croft, Parwich, Derbyshire
- Regen School, Sheffield
- Phoenix Centre, Sutton, Surrey
- Severn Centre, Highley, Shropshire
- Sunlight Development Trust, Gillingham, Kent
- UCAN Centre, Bolton
The winning project was announced at an awards ceremony at the LGA Delivering Sustainable Communities Conference on 14 February 2006. Entries ranged from projects and initiatives of all types and sizes and have been considered by a panel of independent judges with a wide level of expertise in regeneration matters.
In March 2003, the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the award for Sustainable Communities, which recognises projects and initiatives that contribute to making towns and cities better places in which to live and work.
The award pays tribute to those people whose commitment and enthusiasm are making a significant contribution, through innovative schemes or ways of working, towards the building of thriving and successful communities. It also showcases successes and highlight aspects of good practices that have been recognised throughout the assessment process.
The award criteria is based on the agreed definition of a sustainable community as published in the Department's two five year plans – Homes for All and People, Places and Prosperity.
Background
All projects and initiatives must demonstrate active involvement of the community including business and/or residents.
All projects and initiatives should be advanced to a state where there is a record of success with demonstrable results, and should meet some, or all, of the following criteria:
- Active, inclusive and safe – fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities.
- Well run – with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership.
- Environmentally sensitive – providing places for people to live that are considerate of the environment.
- Well designed and well built – featuring a quality built and natural environment.
- Well connected – with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services.
- Thriving – with a flourishing and diverse local economy.
- Well Served – with public, private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate to people’s needs and accessible to all.
- Fair for everyone – including those in other communities, now and in the future.
The awards are administered, on behalf of the ODPM, by the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), whose objective is the identification and promotion of best practice in regeneration.
Last year’s overall winner was the Grange Park Community Project in Blackpool. The other finalists were Chatham Maritime and the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent; Joining Up Northumberland Park, Tottenham, London; and the Urban and Rural Renaissance Initiative, County Durham.
