Two of Selby District Council's recent big projects to improve services for residents have been short listed in a regional awards scheme, designed to promote 'best practice' amongst public sector organisations.

The brand new joint community hospital and civic centre development in Selby and the Council's partnership with WLCT to invest over £1million in new facilities at Abbey Leisure Centre have both been short listed.  The leisure investment has led to a 360% increase in membership of Abbey Leisure Centre, with numbers rising from 750 before the work to around 2,700 members now.

The awards are run by Local Government Yorkshire and the Humber (LGYH), a regional body that promotes joint-working between 22 councils and other public sector organisations such as police and fire service authorities and national park authorities.

Each year LGYH runs the 'Making a Difference Awards', with the aim of highlighting success within the region and enabling others to learn from this success.  This year, these two key Selby District Council projects have been recognised.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Crane, said, "Even with a background of increased pressure on budgets and huge change within our Council, we've continued to be innovative and forward-thinking to invest in the key issues that are important to you.

"Our leisure partnership has delivered £1.1million of state-of-the-art leisure facilities, and the New Selby War Memorial Hospital, made possible because of the Council's involvement in the project, has been welcoming patients to its brand new health facilities since June.

"I'm really proud of what we've achieved and delighted that these achievements have been recognised at a regional level."

The award winners will be announced next month.  The 'Making a Difference Awards' are paid for by corporate sponsorship.