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Harrogate Council's housing team shortlisted for three awards
14 October 20-08 - An award winning local housing team has
been shortlisted for three more.
Harrogate Borough Council's housing service is the country's
top performer and staff are celebrating news that they have been
shortlisted in three different 2008 housing
awards.
They have been chosen from 130 entries as finalist in
the Sustainable Social Housing Landlord of the Year
category for the Inside Housing National Awards.
This is the first ever awards scheme in the
UK to focus on the best 'green' social housing projects constructed
in the UK and the organisations responsible for them.
Organised by Inside Housing, the trophies will be presented at
a suitably 'eco' awards ceremony being hosted in November by top
impressionist and keen environmental campaigner Alistair
McGowen.
The second shortlist is for the UK Housing Awards, which is
the premier annual awards for the Housing professional nationally.
The Harrogate team have been shortlisted for their ground-breaking
ground source heat pump project.
The 'hat trick' is that the same team have been shortlisted to
become a Beacon Council for their work on affordable
housing. They are through the first round and if
successful will see them honouring a commitment to share the secret
of their success with other organisations under the theme of 'Homes
for the Future'.
Councillor Jean Butterfield, Cabinet Member for Housing,
said: "This is great news for a team that works
especially hard to come up with innovative projects to not only
deliver first class social housing but also to make sure that we
can do all we can to make our homes environmentally friendly and
cost effective for residents.
"The eco awards are mainly for the work we have done to
provide heat from ground and air source pumps.
The council is leading the way on providing this new technology in
social homes. We are also leading the way on
many other housing projects and our team is consistently sought out
for advice.
Encouraging those in local government to share knowledge is a
fundamental part of the Government's Improvement and Development
Agency's knowledge management strategy. The
Beacon Scheme is a prestigious award that recognises excellence in
local government so, whilst we have always been happy to share our
success with others, this award will recognise it at a national
level." ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Councillor Jean Butterfield is available for comment on 01423
770381. Further technical information is
available from Alan Jenks,
Head of Housing on 01423 556849.