Success for Council Health and Recreation Department at Association of Public Service Excellence Awards

It was a night of celebration for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council at the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards on Thursday 9 September, when they were announced as the winner for Best Service Team for Parks, Grounds and Horticulture for Outdoor Leisure for their work at Gosford Park.

Organised by APSE, an organisation dedicated to promoting excellence in the delivery of frontline services to local communities around the UK, the prestigious awards, which were held in Birmingham, is highly regarded among local government authorities as a benchmark for best practice standards and innovation within the sector.

The Lord Mayor, Alderman Glenn Barr, along with a delegation of councillors and council staff where in attendance at the awards where the Council’s Health and Recreation Department were nominated for five awards.

Speaking of winning the award, the Lord Mayor said, “This is a major achievement for our Health and Recreation Department and the Council as a whole. Picking up the award for Best Service Team for Parks, Grounds and Horticulture is true recognition of the dedicated work the team at Gosford Park undertake to ensure the park remains a superb outdoor attraction for our residents and visitors to the Borough. This award highlights a supreme example of teamwork and commitment to their role which benefits all who visit Gosford Forest Park.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to the other sections of the Health and Recreation team who were up for awards in four other categories. Reaching the final shortlist is a superb achievement in itself, one which I personally, and on behalf of the council are extremely proud of.

It’s fantastic to see recognition for everyone involved, who work tirelessly to ensure that our local leisure facilities and services are maintained and delivered to an exceptional standard especially in what has been an extremely challenging year.”

Following a rigorous selection process involving over 320 applications, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council’s Health and Recreation Department were shortlisted in the following categories.

• Best Health and Well-being Initiative for Sports Development (Girls Activities)
• Best Service Team of the Year for Parks, Grounds and Horticulture for Outdoor Leisure (Gosford Park)
• Best Housing, Regeneration or New Building Initiative for South Lake Leisure Centre
• Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative for South Lake Leisure Centre
• Best Service Team of the Year for Sports, Leisure and Cultural Services for South Lake Leisure Centre