Hat Trick For Housing Group

An Alness resident group has been honoured with three awards in one week. Two national awards and one from The Highland Council.

Westford residents weren’t the only people to think they had a wonderful place as judges of the annual Highland Council Quality Awards agreed with them when they announced the Westford’s Wonderful Place team were the winners in the ‘Working with Communities and Partners’ category at a ceremony at Carbisdale Castle in Sutherland (Tuesday 1 November).

The project, "Westford’s Wonderful Place" a play and community area for all ages led by the Westford Action Group, was nominated by Ross and Cromarty Housing Services. It demonstrated what can be achieved by residents who take the lead in improving their community. The project did more than provide fantastic play facilities in Westford, it sparked a sense of pride in the area; it built the capacity of residents to continue improving their neighbourhood; and it gave young people something positive to do and left a wonderful legacy in Westford.

The awards are a showcase for projects that Highland Council staff have led or played a part in. The Westford team was made up of representatives of the Westford Action Group and their project partners from the Highland Council and the Alness Community Economic Development (CED) partnership.

On Friday (4 Nov) the team travelled to Glasgow to be named as winners in the ‘Outstanding Achievement’ category of the national Tenant Participation Good Practice Awards run by the Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

Today (Monday 7 Nov) Tom Greig, Chair of the Westford Action Group, received recognition in the Britain in Bloom Neighbourhood Awards 2005 pilot project on behalf of their committee at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh.