Civic Awards

What would Poynton be without its community?

Each year at our Civic Sunday event, our Town Mayor presents Civic Awards to members of our community. 

These awards seek to recognise those who give their time to benefit our community from the individual volunteers to the community organisations themselves.

The awards also seek out the younger members of the community who have already embarked on a life of giving something back.

 

 

Civic Award winners 2024

 

The Town Council would like to congratulate the recipients of the 2024 Civic Awards, which were presented by the Town Mayor, Cllr Hayley Whitaker at the Civic Reception on Sunday 14th July 2024.

This followed the Civic Service held at St George’s Church.

The Civic Service Awards were presented in recognition of a sustained and significant contribution to the community, separated into the following categories:

Nature and Environment award       

Friends of Poynton Pool

Set up to protect the trees and wildlife around Poynton Pool, Friends of Poynton Pool have worked tirelessly to oppose Cheshire East Council’s Poynton Pool Spillway Improvement proposal, which would result in the loss of a large number of trees.

The group set up a website and Facebook page to share information They have read countless documents, organised online and door-to-door petitions, lobbied local and national government and produced media statements. They have informed residents, undertaken and commissioned professional studies, researched on behalf of the community, raised funds to support their mission.

So far they have achieved a deferral of the planning application. This is a significant achievement and everyone in Poynton is incredibly grateful for the effort that the members of this group have put in.

 

Community Award     

Laurence Denham

Laurence is a long time member of the Poynton Show committee. He takes on the pivotal role of 'Show General Manager', a role that essentially delivers the show for the people of Poynton each year. He is committed to planning throughout the year, but especially seven days before the show when he takes annual leave from his job to plan and manage the site build. He is the catalyst for the small group of volunteers, and his passion and hard work has ensured that Poynton Show continues to occur annually – having only been halted by World Wars, and recently, Covid 19. We are grateful to Laurence for being such an important part of Poynton Show, a true highlight of the town’s calendar which residents look forward to every year.

 

Business Award           

Paul Tavernor

Paul Tavernor runs the popular art gallery and shop on Park Lane and is the creator of ‘Inktails Mouse’. He inspires all ages with his art and story-telling, depicting positivity, hope and courage. Throughout the year, he gives away his time and hundreds of his artworks for free to Poynton residents and the community. This could be donating signed prints as prizes for local fairs and raffles, or hiding free art around the town for people to find. He is a self-taught artist that didn’t go to college when he was younger, and as a result he likes to create art and inspire the next generation.

 

Youth Award   

Maisie Greaves and Thomas Boraman

Maisie and Thomas are head students for the final year of study at Poynton High School and Sixth Form.

Tasked with improving the student and staff experience at the High School, Maisie and Tom have created a safe and inclusive atmosphere where all voices are heard. They have been able to share a real insight into the student experience for staff, supporting us to make meaningful adaptations to the ways we work, from how we communicate with sixth formers through to changing the ways in which we prepare young people for their exams. They have spoken in assemblies to students, staff and parents, attended careers events at other schools and absolutely wowed Ofsted inspectors in their first week as Head Students. In the busiest and most challenging year of their studies prior to completing their A Levels they have truly showcased themselves as inspirational role models for students in younger years and have left a real legacy behind them.

 

Extra Mile         

Tim Webster

 Tim Webster is the head of the Performance department at Poynton High School. He runs junior and senior choirs at the High School as well as playing piano for SingZest choir at Poynton Methodist Church. Choir rehearsals at the school take place at lunchtimes and after school several times a week, taking up a considerable amount of Tim’s time outside normal school hours. He arranges performances at various venues and even arranges extra-curricular trips like visits to the Palace Theatre for choir members.

The choir is a fantastically welcoming space. Students clearly find it a very nurturing environment and having that safe space to sing with others is incredibly valuable to students who may not feel they fit in to other groups. There are happier and more confident young people in Poynton because they have belonged to the choir throughout their time at the High School.

 

Mayor’s Commendation        

Poynton Players

Poynton Players have been putting on plays of all types for the community of Poynton and surrounding towns since its beginnings in 1925. It is a registered charity and its membership, now about 75, is entirely open for anyone to join and all that is required is an enthusiasm for drama. The theatre is also available for other groups to use that may need the use of a stage and a theatre.

The range of performances cover a very broad range of genres including comedy, serious and thought provoking plays, classical plays such as Shakespeare, and popular TV adaptions. The theatre is a little gem of a space, maintained by members and built up for decades by local enthusiasts. Each year, four or five plays over six nights are staged with often full houses of Poyntonians and their friends. That means about 2500 seats are filled each year!

 

The Lifetime Achievement Award    

Jean and John Lunt, Steve and Jane Blackburn

This year the Town Council have awarded two Lifetime Achievement awards to two couples – Steve and Jane Blackburn and Jean and John Lunt who have given service to their community over many decades.

Steve and Jane Blackburn have been valued adult members of The Scouting Association for over 45 years. Together, they have been part of Scouting within Poynton since the mid-1970’s. As a team, they have given thousands of hours of voluntary service to the Association and provided many life-skills to the young people of Poynton.

Both Steve and Jane have held roles within the larger Macclesfield and Congleton District; for Steve, the last 20 years this has been as Badge Secretary, responsible for organising and running the District Shop and for Jane this has been supporting the running of the District and keeping 3rd Poynton Scout Group functioning.

Together, Jane and Steve have been a hardworking and dedicated team, for the benefit of Poynton’s young people.

Jean Lunt started a combined Venture Scout and Ranger Guide unit in the 1960s. She has helped many other Girlguiding Units around Poynton, lending a hand when volunteers were hard to come by and ensuring meetings could take place safely. Even after retiring from leading her own unit, she has continued to volunteer as the County Archivist. Girlguiding in Poynton would find it a struggle to manage without Jean as her knowledge and experience are things we make use of regularly. Many generations of girls in Poynton have learned about boats, campfires and tents from Jean and we hope that many will do so in the future.

John Lunt started volunteering, when he fundraised for the 'new hall' and training as a cub leader. He regularly drove the scout minibus to various camps or towed equipment. He and Jean ran the Venture/Ranger unit, encouraging members to support Poynton organisations such as Open Hands -with gardening and small maintenance jobs. Some learned first aid, how to DJ, or brew their own beer thanks to John.

Jean and John have done and still do so much for the community but have never shouted about it. And they just keep on giving. They support each other tremendously too and our family are so proud of them.