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Who’s at the heart of your community? Who really makes a difference to your part of Northampton?

Northampton Borough Council wants to know about the people who make the community a better place to live so that they can be recognised as part of a new civic awards scheme.

Mayor Councillor Michael Hill is launching the Heart of the Community Award at a meeting of Northampton Borough Council on Monday 1 March.

The Heart of the Community Award will be given to people who give their time and skills to help other people without any thought of a reward.

Throughout March the council will be encouraging nominations from local people who know someone who goes the extra mile and has earned the respect and appreciation of the people they help.

Nominations can be for anyone who is making a difference to their community - the lollipop person who stands at a crossing rain or shine, the neighbour who regularly does shopping or looks out for the elderly, the group that helps keep their neighbourhood clean and tidy.

Putting someone forward for an award is easy - application forms are available in the Borough Council’s One Stop Shop and in libraries and nominations can also be made online through the council’s website www.northampton.gov.uk/heartoftheccommunity

The closing date for nominations is March 31, after which a panel of independent judges that will include the Mayor, Northampton Borough Council Chief Executive and representatives from organisations and businesses in the town will have the very difficult job of reviewing the applications and deciding who really is the Heart of their Community.

Awards will be presented by the mayor at a special celebration event at the Guildhall in May and information about the winners will be published on the Council’s website.

Mayor Michael Hill said: “There are people across Northampton who help and support others and regularly go out of their way to make a difference to the community around them, but people like this rarely look for or receive recognition for their efforts.

“We want to celebrate that community spirit and say a civic thank you for the valuable and important work many unsung people do in making Northampton a better place to be.”