North Northamptonshire celebrated a successful night at last week’s annual Milton Keynes South England (mksm) Excellence Awards as Stanwick Lakes Countryside Attraction and Nature Reserve was awarded the prestigious Building and Design Excellence Award and Corby East Midlands International Pool and Burton Wold Wind Farm in Kettering were both named as shortlisted finalists.
The Stanwick Lakes Countryside Attraction and Nature Reserve, which was completed in April 2009, is a fantastic new visitor centre that is expected to attract 250,000 visitors to the region every year. The landmark building, designed to be one of the first carbon neutral facilities in the county, will be a valuable resource for the community and is a great example of a modern day eco-friendly building thanks to the use of various renewable technologies including solar hot water, a ground source heat pump and rainwater harvesting.
The new Visitor Centre, Stanwick Lakes, also operates as a Social Enterprise, which means that all profits are reinvested to sustain its environmental and community objectives.
Corby East Midlands International Pool opened in June 2009 and has clocked up its 100,000th visitor while the Burton Wold Wind Farm, which was developed by Your Energy Ltd has had over 3,000 visitors and in 2008 it generated enough electricity to power 9,600 homes.
The mksm Excellence Awards recognises schemes which demonstrate outstanding excellence in order to promote the best projects which are still being delivered in these testing times. mksm is the country's largest growth area, spanning three regions and fourteen local authorities, with a partnership headed up by a high level ‘Inter Regional Board', chaired by a CLG Government Minister.
Alyson Alfree, Director, Rockingham Forest Trust, said, “We are delighted that Stanwick Lakes has been awarded this coveted prize. We and our partners at East Northamptonshire Council are hugely proud of the Visitor Centre, which provides excellent facilities to the local community and those that travel here from further afield. A lot of hard work went into the delivery of this important project and it is very pleasing to receive recognition for what we have achieved.”
Leader of Corby Borough Council Pat Fawcett said, “The Corby East Midlands International Pool has already proved a huge success with the people of Corby and the surrounding area and we have received wide praise for this important project. Together with the other schemes that have been highlighted at the mksm awards, it’s clear that North Northamptonshire is achieving a great deal and we have great ambitions to continue the area’s development.”
Cllr Jim Hakewill, Leader of Kettering Borough Council, said, “The Burton Wold Wind Farm is leading the way in terms of renewable energy and we are pleased that it has been recognised at the mksm awards. Kettering Borough Council is committed to working with partners that use the most sustainable methods available and the Burton Wold Wind Farm is an excellent example of this being used effectively to benefit the wider community.”
Simon Evans, Chief Executive of North Northants Development Company, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the partners who are responsible for the delivery of these projects, which have all contributed to improvements for the people of North Northamptonshire. Stanwick Lakes in particular, in winning the Building and Design Excellence Award, should be proud of its achievement and this project is another testament to the ongoing work that is taking place across North Northamptonshire.”
Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited (NEL) provided significant funding for the Stanwick Lakes Countryside Attraction and Nature Reserve, along with East Northamptonshire Council, North Northants Development Company (NNDC), Northamptonshire County Council, Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Natural England through Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, the Welland Partnership and the River Nene Regional Park.