Boston Borough Council is “one of the nation’s most innovative councils”.
That was the accolade paid at the LGC Awards 2019 in London on Wednesday night.
Boston had been shortlisted for an award in the environmental services category – one of 20 categories competed for by councils all over the UK.
Judges shortlisted the council after hearing of the myriad of initiatives taken by the council to keep the town and borough clean and tidy – combatting fly tipping and littering and encouraging recycling and reduced contamination.
The council’s entry championed the work done against a backdrop of shrinking budgets and praised the successful partnerships and volunteers who help with initiatives such as Operation Fly Swat, litter enforcement, litter champions and the Big Boston Clean Up.
Boston, easily one of the smallest councils in the country, was up against Bath and North East Somerset Council, Dorset County Council, East Renfreshire Council, Kent County Council with Bouygues E & S Infrastructure UK, North West Leicestershire District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council with Amey and Tower Hamlets London Borough Council. The winner was Dorset for an “innovative ecological approach to highway verge management”.
Nick Golding, editor of the Local Government Chronicle, organisers of the national awards, said: “To be shortlisted is to be one of the nation’s most innovative councils.”
He said local government requires the work of dedicated and inspirational innovators to help services withstand austerity.