Council in line for top awards

Four of the Council’s projects have been shortlisted for the prestigious awards final.

The Northern Ireland Local Government Awards showcase the best examples of service provision, new initiatives and personal commitment from both councillors and officers.

These awards feature the crme de la crme within Councils making this is a fantastic achievement for Craigavon.

In the category of ‘Women in Local Councils’, the work of the Director of Development Olga Murtagh is one of the three finalists.

The application was made in recognition of Olga’s 20 years service to Local Government in Northern Ireland and the significant impact she has made as Director of Development in Craigavon Borough Council.

In her time at the Council she has introduced a number of successful initiatives and has inspired and motivated the Development Team with a vision of how they could transform the Borough by working together, thinking big and overcoming adversity.

The next two awards see Alderman Sydney Anderson and Alderman Stephen Moutray shortlisted in the ‘Best Initiative by a Councillor’ category.

The ‘Live Jobs Fair’ was devised by Alderman Stephen Moutray - a programme initiated to address the problems facing both Craigavon’s jobseekers and businesses during the ‘credit crunch’.

This event brought together 34 employers, with more than 300 live job vacancies to try to find suitable candidates to fill them. A resounding success, eight hundred job seekers came to see the company representatives, completed application forms, arranged interviews and made use of the advisory services provided.

Alderman Anderson has been nominated for involvement in the Public Realm scheme in Portadown. Initially, traders had issues and difficulties with the scheme, however, by showing exceptional leadership and determination he sold the benefits of this local regeneration project and transformed public opinion.

The final project shortlisted is the ‘Best Joint Initiative between Councils’ with the East Border Region Tourism Project (EBRTP). This partnership takes an innovative approach to tourism within the island of Ireland as ten local authorities collaborate to deliver a wide range of inter-connected projects on a regional basis.

“I am absolutely thrilled that four of our projects have been shortlisted for these prestigious awards,” commented the Mayor of Craigavon, Councillor Mrs Meta Crozier.

“It is a testament to both our officers and members of Council who do excellent work on a daily basis and it is great to see this hard work being recognized. We look forward to the results.”

The event takes place on the evening of February 18 at the Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle.