Green Park sponsors the prestigious 'Local Authority of the Year' Category at the MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2018

Green Park Interim & Executive Search are delighted to congratulate the team at Blackburn with Darwen Council on winning the prestigious Local Authority of the Year Award at The MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2018. Green Park  have sponsored this high-profile award for the sixth year running, which recognises the enormous successes of high-performing Councils in delivering above and beyond for their communities.

The MJ Awards are a highlight of the Local Government calendar and the black-tie ceremony was held on the 27^th June 2018 at London’s Hilton Hotel. The awards have been held every year since 2003 with remarkable success celebrating the very best in Local Government by putting local achievements on the national stage.

The full list of finalists in the Local Authority of the Year award category was:

• Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
• Cheshire West & Chester Council
• London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
• Luton Borough Council
• Salford City Council
• Watford Borough Council

When selecting the award winner, the category judges sought irrefutable evidence of an organisation which functions excellently internally across all service areas and has made a meaningful and positive difference to the community it serves.

The judging panel commented, “The Council “has forged a relationship with its communities that enables it to be absolutely focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for residents across all service areas. The breadth of the Council’s achievements for its communities is outstanding regardless of socio-economic and fiscal challenges. This is underpinned by strong, consistent and humble leadership and an unwavering mission to put the customer first.”

Among an incredibly strong group of finalists, the judges also highly commended Salford City Council.

Harry Catherall, Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen, said: “This has given everybody a tremendous boost after some very difficult times. We share the success with all those dedicated people who work with us.

“We are celebrating our 20^th anniversary as a unitary this year and this really is the icing on the cake. It’s a great present for all of the people who remain firmly ambitious for this brilliant borough. Winning means a great deal to us, Government and investors know that we are a Council that can be trusted to do its very best for our people.”

Neil Lupin, Managing Partner of Green Park who presented the award said: “Supporting the MJ Awards underpins our work with Local Government to champion the phenomenal and often unsung contribution the sector plays within our society. Green Park exists to help to change the face of work by supporting Local Authorities to attract, nurture and retain the very best senior leaders. In our sixth year of leading this award, we were overwhelmed by the strength of submissions and congratulate everyone who participated – finalists, those highly commended and of course, our worthy 2018 winners, Blackburn with Darwen Council.”