Manukau city wins three international awards

Manukau city won a global award for Heritage Management at the International Awards for Liveable Communities. The annual finals for the awards, now in their 11th year, were hosted by Westminster City Council, London.



Manukau city also won a gold award in the Environmentally Sustainable Project category for its entry, Flat Bush New Town; and a silver award in the Whole City category.



The United Nations-backed awards recognise environmental management and the creation of liveable communities. They encourage leadership in providing a vibrant, environmentally sustainable community that improves quality of life.



Councillor Anne Candy, who led a delegation that represented the city at the awards, is delighted with the success. “It’s an honour for the city to be chosen from prestigious competitors.



“I felt very proud to stand alongside our presentation team upholding Manukau on the world stage. Many countries around the world now have a whole lot of respect for not only Manukau but for New Zealand.



“The delegates thought that our presentations were really heart-felt and that we cared for our people. Many of the people we met have gone home and told their partners that they want to visit New Zealand.



“We are very proud to win the Heritage Management award, since we were competing against the whole world in that category.



“Also, Flat Bush’s success with a gold award is extremely commendable, especially in light of the fact that only Stage One of the project is completed.”



The international panel of judges at this year’s finals listened to presentations from 46 communities and projects from 23 nations. “Meeting so many cities at the finals gave us an opportunity to exchange best practice and experience. We can look forward to innovative ways to manage similar challenges,” Cr Candy said.



Manukau Mayor Len Brown is very pleased with city’s success. “These awards are a token of appreciation for our communities, to be recognised on an international platform.



“It also gives an opportunity for Manukau to shine on the world stage as a vibrant, environmentally sustainable community.”




The awards are highly sought after as winning cities typically leverage their status to promote tourism, immigration, city pride and the value obtained from rates.



Councillor Anne Candy was supported by the council’s presentation team - Parks Manager Digby Whyte, Arts Manager Leisa Seitene, and Manager for Design and Development - Flat Bush, Bruce Harland.



The Global judging panel was chaired by Gabriel de Buysscher (Belgium), and included Claudette Savaria (Canada), Rob Small (New Zealand and Australia), Yoritaka Tashiro (Japan), Steve Palframan (the UK) and Krista Vilta (Estonia) for Whole City Awards. The projects categories were judged by Gus Stahlmann (Canada), Christo Coetzer (South Africa), Jos de Wael (Belgium) and Kate Freeth (theUK).