Community Heroes Crowned

The Community Heroes Awards winners were announced last week in a celebration evening for all they do for their communities.

On the 11th of July, nominees across all the categories in the new Community Heroes Awards gathered at Bromsgrove Rugby club to have the winners crowned.

The event was well attended by community groups, along with representatives from West Mercia Police, the Safer Redditch Group, and Redditch Borough Council’s Community Safety team.

Head of Community and Housing Services, Judith Willis, said: “I was delighted at the number of nominations that were submitted in response to the creation of these awards. We knew that there were many in the community doing excellent work to reduce anti-social behaviour and the impact of it and these awards were designed for them to gain the recognition they deserve. Seeing everyone come together to celebrate the brilliant work they are doing was a lovely thing to be a part of.”

The awards were debuted this year to celebrate those in the community who were going above and beyond to combat anti-social behaviour and the negative impacts it can have. There were four categories: Youth Award, Communities Award, Business Award, and Extra Mile Award.

Portfolio Holder for Community Services and Regulatory Services, Cllr. Monica Stringfellow, said: “Reducing anti-social behaviour and the impact it can have on our community is a really important endeavour. I want to say a massive well done to all those who were nominated and won an award at the presentation evening last week.”

The team received over 85 nominations across the four categories in the Redditch area.

Judith added: “A massive congratulations to all those who were nominated and won an award. The projects which were showcased as part of the Community Heroes Award Ceremony were all of outstanding quality.”

Winners included Delroy Thomas and Jade Parker in the Youth category alongside Kingfisher Security in the Business category. For the Community category Your Ideas were crowned winners, with Batchley Support Group, Wallop Boxing Club, and Reach CIC all recognised for their hard work in the community. Pete Martin’s dedication to reducing knife crime and its impacts was recognised by the community as he was awarded the Community Heroes Extra Mile Award.

Leader of Redditch Borough Council, Cllr. Joe Baker, said: “Recognising the hard work of individuals in the community who are going above and beyond to make our town a better place to live, work, and spend their time was the goal of these awards and I believe they achieved that. I thank and celebrate all those who were nominated for the work they are doing.”

You can read the full details about the winners and their achievements and learn more about the awards here: https://www.redditchbc.gov.uk/communityheroawards