River Clyde Homes and LinkLiving were named as category winner at the 2017 SURF Awards for Best Practice in Community Regeneration last night as the first ever recipient of the new Housing category was also announced.

The winners of the prestigious awards for were revealed at a celebratory presentation event in Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel.

Representatives of the five category winning initiatives for 2017 were personally congratulated on their inspiring work by the Scottish Government’s housing and local government minister Kevin Stewart MSP.

The SURF Awards are delivered each year by SURF, a regeneration forum with over 260 cross-sector member organisations across Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government. The purpose is to highlight, celebrate and share the achievements of initiatives that address physical, social and economic challenges in communities across Scotland.

SURF’s panel of 20 independent judges are drawn from national regeneration bodies and community groups. They carefully assessed all of the varied SURF Awards nominations in five thematic categories, visiting 15 different shortlisted initiatives from the Scottish Borders to the Inner Hebrides, before selecting the following category winners:

The five winning projects all demonstrate the value of a long-term approach to regeneration, with dedicated partners working strategically and inclusively to develop comprehensive plans and deliver real and sustainable benefits for all.

In congratulating the winners, SURF chair Kate Wimpress said: “The 2017 SURF Awards shine a light on the resilience, creativity and ingenuity of those working across the country for the benefit of their communities. Despite operating in very challenging times the calibre and number of entrants this year reflects well the talent and dedication to be found in Scotland’s regeneration sector.”

Kevin Stewart MSP added: “I am delighted to be involved again in partnership with SURF to celebrate inspiring community regeneration projects and to share these experiences. The projects shortlisted demonstrate the power of communities to identify and address the priorities that matter most to them; and, to improve the wellbeing of people and communities.”

Andy Milne, chief executive of SURF, said: “The SURF Awards exists to demonstrate that regeneration does work, that communities and partner agencies can deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements by collaborating intelligently. We hope the inventions profiled provide inspiration and practical learning to everyone involved in Scottish community regeneration.”