Lib Dem council wins environmental awards

3.57.44pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 22nd Nov 2005

Lewes District Council was given two prestigious awards for an innovative environmental project at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 4 November.

The first award was as a Regional Gold winner of the Green Apple Award for Local Authority environmental innovation.

The second award was as National Winner of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Best Project contributing to Local Authority Environmental Health improvements and development.

The project itself, called ecoBudget, has been ongoing for three years and was funded by the European Union to develop environmental management throughout the district. Lewes District Council has been working with other local authorities in Sweden, Germany, Italy and Greece to devise new ways for local authorities to look after the environment. In the Lewes district, this has contributed to improvements in waste management and recycling, energy efficiency and biodiversity.

Councillor Eddie Collict, Lewes District Council Lead Member for the Environment, said, "We are extremely pleased and proud to have received these awards. Most of the credit belongs to the staff working on the project, and I am grateful for their enthusiasm and dedication in taking forward Agenda 21 issues. The ecoBudget project has been hard work, but extremely successful in developing our approach to protecting and improving the environment. It is rewarding to have our achievements recognised and it motivates us further to do even better in the future for the good of the residents of Lewes district."