A project to extend a successful, volunteer-led community library, has won an award.
Great Ayton Discovery Centre was recently expanded to include space for the village’s tourist information centre, as well as housing its existing second-hand bookshop and public-use computers.
The extension, created using a LEADER fund grant of £85,000 and the centre’s own resources, was recently opened by Richmond MP Rishi Sunak, who described the centre as ‘very much the hub’ of the village.
Now the project has been announced as the winner of North Yorkshire County Council’s Best Community Project at its annual community awards.
Major Expansion for Great Ayton’s community library
The awards celebrated the breadth and depth of volunteering in North Yorkshire at a ceremony on Friday, October 26.
The awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate and showcase voluntary work by individuals and organisations that make their neighbourhoods better places to live and help the council to deliver critical services, such as providing social networks that reduce isolation and enable people to live independently for longer.
The judging panel, which included representatives from the county council, volunteer organisations and young people, was again impressed by the quality of the nominees.
This year, there were 66 nominations for 64 groups and individuals. The winners were presented with their awards at the North Yorkshire Wider Partnership Conference at The Pavilions, Harrogate.
County council chair Cllr Robert Windass said: “Each year we continue to be hugely impressed by the standard of the nominees. So many people of all ages and backgrounds right across North Yorkshire generously give their time and skills to help others, making a big contribution to the people’s lives.
“The standard of the entries made it very difficult to choose winners. All the finalists, and indeed all the nominees, deserve our gratitude and admiration. Without the tens of thousands of hours given by so many volunteers, life for so many people would be much poorer.”
The winner of each category received £1,000 for the project, group or nominated relevant local charity in the case of the volunteer awards. Two runners-up in each category received £250.
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