Team receive unprecendented number of public nominations for town hall accolade

A group of council workers have set a record by receiving 37 nominations from the public for a town hall award.

The team at Church Lane and Mount Stewart Children’s Centre were one of many proud winners at the annual Brent Council Staff Achievement Awards which took place yesterday.

Staff at the centre in Mount Stewart Avenue, Kenton, received an accolade in the Public Awards Team category alongside workers from Vale Farm Sport Centre in Sudbury and the borough’s licensing team.

Gillian Spry, the borough’s London 2012 manager, received an individual award voted by her colleagues with the night culminating with her being named the council’s employee of the year.

Other awardees include Jackie Kelly, a teacher at Kingsbury High School, who was recognised for 40 years service, and Fiona Bateman who was one of three winners in the improvement, efficiency and service transformation category.

Ms Batemen, a senior community care lawyer, was acknowledged for bringing Adult Social Care debt recovery work back in house resulting in the council clawing back more than �600,000 in overdue care fees.

More than 300 people attended the ceremony which also included musical performances by local youths and a raffle draw which raised more than �600 for the Mayor’s charity.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, said: “One of the great honours of my job is that I get to meet the hardworking people who go above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis to make life better for the people of Brent.

“Our staff awards is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our staff who make a huge difference to our area. They are the real heroes.”