Civic Voice’s CEO Steve Graham thanks AGM delegates

I would like to thank all of those that attended the AGM on Saturday, and the Civic Day Awards on Friday evening. We were very well hosted by the Coventry Society, and we are all very grateful to Colin, Hazel and colleagues, and Coventry City Council. The Society treated us all to not only some really interesting and illuminating tours around the city centre-and there were some real gems-but also an evening in the wonderful St Marys Hall, the Merchants Guild Hall opposite the Cathedral.

With delegates already buzzing after seeing some of the sites of Coventry during the day we were officially welcomed by Cllr John Mutton for the evening celebrations. The central part of the evening focused on the Civic Day Awards, presented by Paula Riley our Chair, and I can tell you there were so many excellent entries from right around the country it was by no means an easy task to choose the winners.

The winners of each category were:

Blackpool Civic Trust Award for Innovative Community Involvement – The award recognises the fact that Blackpool Civic Trust organised a community Scarecrow Festival by uniting with local schools and community groups.

Bristol Civic Society Award for use of Social Media – The award recognises the success of Bristol Civic Society in utilising Social Media such as Twitter and Facebook to engage the wider community in a photography competition.

Fleet and Church Crookham Society for Partnership Working – The award recognises the work undertook by the society to establish new relationships with community groups from across the borough by organising an event to allow each group to exhibit their work and recruit new members in the main shopping area.

Hale Civic Society Award for Building a Sense of Community – The award recognises the work of Hale Civic Society in uniting Hale businesses with the community through the creation of their very own “Hale Olympic Torch”.

Malvern Civic Society - A special award which recognises the major effort Malvern Civic Society undertook by organising over 100 events through June as a contribution to national Civic Day and the Diamond Jubilee.

Marple Civic Society for Community Engagement – The award recognises the work the society undertook to find out “what do people want for Marple”. This included hosting a “Question Time” event featuring local councillors, business leaders and the Chair of Marple Civic Society, as well as managing to get over 400 responses to the pilot Civicwatch survey.

Oxford Civic Society Award for Educating the Public – The award recognises the successful event organised by the Society in partnership with the University and Council to inform members of the community about the new Neighbourhood Planning regulations.

Scarborough Civic Society for Improved Public Image - The award recognises the innovative scheme dreamed up by Scarborough Civic Society and run in partnership with Scarborough Museums Trust and Scarborough Borough Council (with a grant of £9,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund). The project will allow high-quality reproductions of eight locally themed artworks held in the Museum to be placed at outdoor venues around the town to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.


We had an early start the following day but that didn’t hold back delegates enjoying the evening, meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

The Saturday followed with a wealth of speakers, workshops and networking opportunities. Our president Griff Rhys Jones joined us for a rousing speech about the importance of civic societies across the country. Delegates also enjoyed the presentation of the Marsh Civic Awards, details of which are soon to follow on the website.

Workshops included discussions on Neighbourhood Planning, Heritage Open Days, and the Portas pilots. There was also a fantastic presentation from some delegates who attended the civic leadership course, run by Civic Voice, on how to do a health check on your civic society and as well as on the English Heritage sponsored Protect our Place campaign. Many more discussions were had, with opportunities, success and problems shared. There was also a look to the future campaigns of Civic Voice, again information to follow.

Overall I thought the hosting both by Coventry Society and the Council was hard to beat and delegate networking was excellent with many great ideas and thoughts being exchanged. I was struck by how welcoming everyone was and I hope to take up the many invites to meet society members in their home patch over the next 6 months or so. I was also grateful for the positive feedback on the organisation of the AGM, the venue and for the speeches which helped delegates have an idea of some of the challenges we face-and the opportunities on offer. I was really interested to hear of successes from, for example, Cockermouth to Gosport via Lytham St. Anne’s, Marple, Chester, Oxford and Kensington, as well as some of the issues they faced in reaching success. There is so much that member societies offer to their communities and I congratulate everyone, delegates and those not able to join us this year, for their commitment, energy and effectiveness in contributing to keeping our country somewhere that’s attractive, distinctive and to be proud of.

I look forward to working with you all over the next year and to seeing you all again at our next AGM.