Community Group Award

CRITERIA: Open to any voluntary community group or voluntary organisation which has come together and made a real difference to the quality of people’s everyday lives. This could include environmental projects like litter picking, organising a fun day, or helping vulnerable people – the old, the very young, or people with problems.

Seedlings Toddler Group

Sue Taylor, from Seedlings

Seedlings is a mothers and toddlers group based at Crowmoor Baptist Church in Shrewsbury, which meets weekly on Thursday mornings.

Maggie Randle from Belvidere nominated the group, saying: “It is a warm, comforting sanctuary for us mums. We are always greeted at the door – and have the door held open for us! – and are all known by name.

“These wonderful people will come and chat with us whilst our children play, and are genuinely interested in our lives. The toys and activities are all clean and bright, and set out for us when we arrive.”

She added: “At Christmas the helpers organised a lovely party, our children met Father Christmas and were given a present. For all this we pay £1 a week –no profit there!

“The ladies and gentlemen who run Seedlings always have a smile for us and our children. They are wonderful and have made such a difference to our children’s lives – they have shown that some people are just good, without receiving financial reward.”

Lawley Green Space Group

Mark Eccleston from the Lawley Green Space Group

The Lawley Green Space group in Telford was formed by a group of local residents, including Mark Eccleston who wanted to create a better sense of community through the development of environmental and wildlife projects on their estate.

They took responsibility for a two-acre plot which was set aside when the houses were built. It was mainly grassed, with a few young trees around the edge, but was hardly used by any of the residents.

The group initially started out by planting an orchard of 15 fruit trees, 100 hedging trees and 300 wildflowers. This was all done with the help of residents, the local pre-school group, and the Lawley primary school.

The next project was the creation of a “cottage garden-style” flowerbed, which has proved a great success, with many residents donating plants from their own gardens to help make it bright and colourful.

Log benches are among the most recent additions, making it a popular place in which to sit, and the project has spawned a regular newsletter, and led to a host of community social events including a teddy bears’ picnic, bonfire party, and carols around the Christmas tree.

Whittington Castle Preservation Trust

Colin Robinson from the Whittington Castle Preservation Trust

Colin Robinson is the chairman of Whittington Castle Preservation Trust, which has acquired a 99-year lease to manage the castle sitting in the centre of the north-west Shropshire village.

The Trust obtained, and managed, a £1.5 million project to repair and restore Whittington Castle with the assistance of a £950,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It is the only castle in the UK which is owned and run by a local community, and Sue Ellis, who manages the site, says: “I feel that the Trust deserves some acknowledgement for this project.

“This small band of volunteers have worked tirelessly over the years to do something about an iconic Shropshire historic site which was in danger of disappearing for ever.”

Whittington Castle Preservation Trust is a community-based charitable trust, formed in December 1998 because of fears for the future of the site. As a result of its work, an effective conservation plan for the castle has been developed.

Sue added: “The project aims to create a better awareness of environmental and cultural assets amongst the resident and visiting community.”