Great Yarmouth Borough Council is finalist for two local government awards

The council's chief executive, Sheila Oxtoby, and directors are finalists in the Senior Leadership Team category which is a reflection of both the political leadership provided by councillors and the significant contribution of the wider staff team to drive forward Great Yarmouth as both an organisation and a place.

In addition, the widely-acclaimed £2.7m restoration of Great Yarmouth's Venetian Waterways has been shortlisted in the Delivering Better Outcomes category for the way the council has worked with the community to revive the historic park.

This exciting news follows the council's shortlisting in the Driving Growth category of the 2020 LGC Awards, recognising its work to support economic growth, investment and job-creation in the borough.

These are exciting times in Great Yarmouth, with the council leading on key investments. The new £26m Marina Centre will soon start taking shape on the seafront, while the Winter Gardens restoration is one of just 12 projects nationally invited to apply for major Lottery funding to bring it back into use.

Work will start later this year on a welcoming new Market Place. That is part of a £50m vision for town centre regeneration, which includes relocating the library to a larger building in a central location, converting space in empty or under-utilised historic buildings into new homes, building new quality housing and establishing a heritage centre.

In addition, the council played a role in partnership lobbing for the £120m Third River Crossing, which will support the ambitions for the town centre as well as improve connections with the Port and top-performing Enterprise Zone, helping to bolster investment opportunities across the energy sector, including offshore wind. 

Cllr Carl Smith and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the council's main political group leaders, said: "Our council is punching well above its weight to drive forward an ambitious agenda of investment, regeneration and growth, which has become all the more critical as we support our place into economic recovery.

"The council has an outcomes-focussed team culture, clear strategy and vision, and has won the confidence of Government, major national funders and other partners. This award shortlisting is important national recognition of that, and we pay tribute to Sheila and her senior team, who combine their skills and energies, working with councillors from both parties and the wider dedicated staff team, to drive forward this exciting programme of change for our communities."

Sheila Oxtoby, the chief executive, said: "Team-working is critical to success in local government and I am fortunate to have excellent political leadership across the spectrum whilst at the same time having an exceptional managerial team and hard-working, dedicated staff. This shortlisting reflects the way all colleagues have come together as a 'one council' team, working with our councillors, external partners and communities, to respond to local priorities.

"We're all working together to drive our borough and organisation forwards, investing proactively in the economy and delivering responsive interventions. I was so proud to see our 'one team' ethos demonstrated so clearly during our response to Covid-19, when everyone pulled together and worked flexibly with partners to support and serve our residents and businesses, with many colleagues redeployed to completely different roles."

The award winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony in October.