COMMUNITY leaders from all walks of life gathered at Milestones museum to celebrate the launch of a major awards scheme that will put the spotlight on the great people, places and initiatives in the town and borough of Basingstoke.

The A Place to be Proud of Awards are being run jointly by Gazette Newspapers, Festival Place, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and the Local Strategic Partnership.

The seven categories in the awards will provide the platform to recognise the outstanding contributions of individuals and groups in Basingstoke.

The categories are: - Safe Community - Good Citizen - Customer Service - Creativity - Learning - Sense of Place - Healthy Community T he organisers of the awards are all confident the event will help the town and borough promote and project itself as a place to be proud of.

Borough mayor Cllr Gerry Traynor said the area is definitely on the up and has been revitalised by the Festival Place shopping and leisure complex and other investment.

He told the 80-strong audience: "These awards will help to give people a sense of belonging.

"We're all in a community, whether we're living on an urban estate or in a rural area or working in the town.

"We have a wonderful town and borough that we should be proud of. It's a great place to live, work and play."

Festival Place centre director Bernard Ferris believes the town, borough and its people deserve the recognition that the awards will bring.

He said: "As a town, we've got an awful lot to be very pleased about. It's a great town to live in, a great town to work in and a great town to study in. It doesn't get the credit it deserves."

Mr Ferris believes the awards will change outsiders' perceptions and help create a new image for Basingstoke. He said: "What these awards are going to do is perhaps remind other people about the confidence of the place. The people of Basingstoke actually know how good it is to live here."

According to Stephen Sheedy, chairman of the Local Strategic Partnership, the town will face new challenges in the future, but he believes it is well-placed to thrive.

Speaking about the awards, he said: "For me, these are just another means of contributing to an overall desire to raise aspirations in the town.

"It's about people who feel left out; people who are making a major contribution getting recognised for it. The awards are also the recognition that success breeds success."

Gazette Newspapers sponsored the awards launch event at Milestones and editor Mark Jones urged the leading local figures who were present to get involved in supporting the awards, either through sponsorship of one of the categories or by encouraging nominations.

He said: "Gazette Newspapers is delighted to support the A Place to be Proud of Awards. Basingstoke is a go-ahead place and the community should not hide its light under a bushel. These awards will celebrate the successes of local people and will help promote a positive image of our town and borough."

Next week's Friday Gazette will detail how people can be nomin-ated for the A Place to be Proud of Awards and over the coming weeks and months, The Gazette will be putting the spotlight on the event as it progresses towards the grand final awards dinner evening to be held in Festival Place on Wednesday, January 21, 2004.