Winners too close to call

Schemes from Rochdale and Heywood vying for the 2010 Dave Davison Memorial Award for Excellence in Planning and Regeneration have proved too good to separate.

The Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Zulfiqar Ali presented the bi-annual award to two joint winners after schemes to build housing and revitalise shopping could not be separated.

The award was set up by Dave Davison’s widow, Kath Davison after he died in April 2005 two weeks into his retirement at the end of a 31 year career as a planner working for Rochdale Borough Council and the Rochdale Development Agency.

At the recent award ceremony (10 June) at the Middleton Arena, Kath Davison said:

“David always had an encouraging word for younger staff and stressed the vital importance of giving credit to the people who day to day make projects happen.

“The Brighter Horizons project from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and the Heywood Block Scheme from the Rochdale Development Agency both epitomise the principles David stood for.

“I was particularly impressed with the Brighter Horizons’ Croft Street and Dover Street Schemes in Rochdale and their emphasis on local needs, community involvement in the design and build and their energy efficiency.”

“At the same time, the revitalisation of Heywood’s town centre was one of David’s particular interests. The Heywood Block Scheme’s high quality renovation of retail and commercial properties is making a big difference in these hard times economically.

“In the end, I couldn’t separate them – so I made the people behind both these schemes joint winners of the 2010 award.”

The award, a Waterford crystal vase, was presented to Clare Tostevin, Brighter Horizons’ tireless team leader and Andy Swaby, Duncan Cooper, and Julie Evans from the Rochdale Development Agency’s Regeneration Team, the driving force behind the Heywood Block Scheme.