Award Success for Leicester
Leicester has won two top awards, the East Midlands in Bloom Award and the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM) Open Space Innovation Award for 2006.
First, Leicester scooped the 'East Midlands in Bloom award' for the 2nd year running, winning a Silver Gilt Award in the Urban Regeneration category.
Judges were impressed with the improvements to Castle Park, the street cleaning in the city centre, and the work to enable trade to continue during the major development work on the city centre Streets and Spaces programme. They also praised the publicity and promotion of the Leicester in Bloom scheme throughout the city centre.
The award was announced at De Montfort Hall yesterday, when over 200 representatives from across the East Midlands gathered for the regional ceremony.
Leicester will be representing the East Midlands in the Urban Regeneration category at the national Britain in Bloom ceremony in Perth, Scotland on Thursday 21st September.
The entry for 2006 East Midlands in Bloom is a partnership between Leicester City Council and the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, with support from Walkers Snack Foods, and the Shires Shopping Centre.
The second award was given to a scheme designed to attract visitors to Leicester parks.
Leicester City Council's Passport to Parks initiative was set up earlier this year to encourage people to visit parks by following a network of brass rubbing plaques.Passport to Parks allows visitors to make rubbings of plaques positioned in 10 of the city's parks. Visitors who collect any five of the rubbings can then claim discounts on other council-run health and leisure facilities.
Judges in the contest were impressed by how sustainable and flexible the scheme was, as well as its potential health benefits and cost effectiveness.The award was presented to council parks manager Stewart Doughty and parks officer Alan Brown at a ceremony in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening.
Leicester City Council leader, Cllr Roger Blackmore, said: "We're very proud to receive the award which is a credit to all involved, to have received national recognition from ILAM and local recognition from park users is wonderful news."