Celebrating inspirational residents at the Creating Places Awards

Outstanding L&Q residents from across London and the South East have been celebrated at a glittering awards ceremony.

Earlier this year, L&Q invited all of our residents to tell us about people who make a real difference to people’s lives and a genuine contribution to their community.
L&Q’s mission is creating places where people want to live, and these awards were designed to recognise and thank the residents who help us do just that.

From over 150 nominations, our panel of judges drew up a shortlist of exceptional residents. These people were invited to the swanky Café Royal near Piccadilly Circus for a celebratory awards dinner and the chance to meet special celebrity guest Shaun Williamson – better known as Barry from Eastenders.
After dinner and a hilarious speech from Shaun, the overall winners and runners-up were announced:

Good Neighbour Award

Winner Stuart Norman
Runner up Tom Cole

Everybody needs good neighbours and residents of Haynes Park Court in Hornchurch, Essex, have unearthed a real gem in Stuart Norman.
Resident Pamela Coupland said: “Stuart always goes that extra mile no matter what the situation. He is Chairman of our Residents’ Association and anyone can go to him for any advice with any problem. If he can’t help at that stage, he will work tirelessly to get it sorted out.”
Stuart regularly takes residents from all over his estate to hospital appointments and is the long-standing Chairman of the Board of Governers at the local primary school, for which he does lots of fundraising.
He fits all this in around his work as manager of a furniture store!
Pamela added: “Stuart also has a good relationship with many of the L&Q staff and this is why our estate runs very smoothly.”

Community Champion

Winner Bob Hurley
Runner up Nadya Enver

Bob established and runs a youth centre on his estate, organises Christmas parties and is a key member of the “Friends of Montagu Group”, which aims to improve the local park and community areas. He has recently acquired a hall for community activities and is working with the council to get it refurbished.
He listens to his neighbours to find out what they want and offer advice, and is seen as the heartbeat of his community.
Suzanne Thomas of L&Q said: “Bob is a caring individual who is always striving to help support the community by setting up activities they would like to be involved in.
“Over the years he has committed so much of his time, and sometimes his efforts have been unsuccessful, but his determination to make the estate and surrounding area a better place to live gives him the will-power to start all over again with the same enthusiasm.”
Resident Gillian Scott summed him up by saying: “I think it’s time we showed Bob how valuable he is because our estate wouldn’t be the same without him. He is a man that works non-stop top make this a better community for us all to live in.”

Safer Neighbourhoods Award

Winner Chris Bartlett
Runner up William Davis

Chris was housed under the Rough Sleeper Initiative and moved into an L&Q SL apartment at the beginning of 2007. Three residents at the scheme had been transferred just before this because another resident was harassing and threatening them, damaging property and committing serious anti-social behaviour.
Because people were too frightened to give evidence L&Q SL were unable to persue the required legal action and the problems escalated.
Mr Bartlett, however, stood up to the perpetrator and agreed to give evidence, and L&Q SL were able to resolve the situation with a positive outcome. He gave statements to the police and bravely appeared in Court, which meant that we were able to evict the trouble maker.
Lynda Sullivan from, L&Q SL said: “Mr Bartlett, as a new tenant, was dignified throughout the whole process and willing to help L&Q SL without any incentive or financial reward.”

Sustainability Champion

Winner Chloe Hanchen
Runner up Bob Holmes

In an ever-changing world it is vital that people take more responsibility for the planet and few people do more to raise awareness of environmental issues than Chloe.
Sarah Fletcher of L&Q said: “Chloe has played a pivotal role in raising the profile of environmentally-friendly behaviour among other residents and within L&Q itself.
“She has recently volunteered to lead a pilot project in her community which will analyse the amount of energy etc people use in their homes and look at ways of reducing their consumption.
“She is totally dedicated to promoting greener living and has done everything from putting on displays of fair-trade and organic products to organising screenings of Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”.
“L&Q has now agreed to a major sustainability strategy, which has partly been influenced by Chloe’s work, and we hope she will be working closely with us over the coming months and years.”

Young Person of the Year

Winner Richard Pobee
Runner up Kennedy Mutongerwa

Young people often get a rough ride in the media, but Richard is a shining example of just how hard-working and committed today's youth can be.
Suzanne Thomas from L&Q said: “Richard is a key panel member of the Youth Bank, an L&Q-led project which gives young people in Enfield the chance to award small grants to other youngsters for local community projects.
“Richard has given up his free time to go to meetings and interview other young people who are applying for grants, and he has so many great ideas and shares his experience with younger people.
“He also went to L&Q’s annual conference and spoke to large groups of staff about the benefits of being involved in the project.”
Richard has recently agreed to sit on L&Q’s Enfield and Haringey Neighbourhood Committee and has started an L&Q-funded course to become a youth worker.
Suzanne added: “Richard’s energy and commitment to these projects is very heart warming and he makes an enormous contribution to the community.”

Special Award for Resident of the Year

Winner - Maude Estwick

Grandmother of six, Maude Estwick, received a special award for Resident of the Year for her many years of generous community work. An L&Q resident for over 27 years, Maude Chairs the Milkwood Residents’ Association in Herne Hill, south west London. Her greatest achievement has been transforming a nearby wasteland into a bustling play area that won a prestigious Green Flag award, raising half a million pounds to do so. Alongside her many charitable commitments, Maude is now focussed on converting an old church building into a community centre. Earlier this year Maude beat stiff competition from across the country to be voted “the best neighbour in England” at the National Housing Federation’s annual Neighbourhood Awards.

Speaking at the awards, L&Q Group Chief Executive Don Wood said: “We have always known that our residents are the heartbeat of L&Q communities. It takes more than bricks and mortar to create places where people want to live and we believed it was time to recognise those exceptional people whose contribution, often at great personal time and expense, has been pivotal in creating safe, thriving neighbourhoods with excellent facilities and a real community spirit.”

Shaun Williamson added: “People talk a lot about community spirit and that is something that can only be created by the people living in an area. A real community is about neighbourly input and neighbourly care.
“I grew up on a tough estate so I know how hard that can be sometimes. In some places neighbours don’t even grunt ‘hello’ to each other and it can be very difficult to stand up and try to change things and make a difference.
“All the residents who were nominated for an L&Q award are people who have tried to transform the spirit in their community into something special. They are doers, not just talkers.
“I hope everyone keeps up the excellent work and L&Q keeps spreading the message about what they are doing so more people can be inspired.”

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