Seven-year-old girl and Ferrybridge Community Centre among winners of Wakefield District Housing's 'Love Where You Live' awards

A record number of nominations were whittled down to a shortlist of people and groups who have all made outstanding contributions to their local communities over the past 12 months.

WDH turned the final decision over to the public who voted in their thousands to crown their 2022 champions who ranged from volunteers who champion inclusivity in dance and gymnastics to young achievers who raise thousands for charities.

Winners included seven-year-old Ada Butterfield, who doesn’t let chronic liver disease stop her on her way to raising money for the Children’s Liver Disease charity that supports her and her family.

So far this young star has raised over £80,000 for them by completing runs and her most recent challenge of climbing Pen Y Ghent, one of the Yorkshire three peaks.

Ferrybridge Community Centre Association took home first prize in the Community Group category.

Their work has a huge impact on their local community as they provide a safe space for people to meet and socialise as well as running a book exchange to allow people of Castleford and Pontefract to borrow books if they are unable to use libraries.

A spokesperson for the community centre said: “It’s been an amazing night and great to meet like-minded people. We’re surprised and pleased to have won.

"Our prize money will be going straight back into the group to help run a Christmas event which we have coming up which supports a lot of local children.”

Tenants, residents and community groups were invited to the glitzy award ceremony at Burntwood Court Hotel in Barnsley on Thursday, November 4.

The event, sponsored by grounds maintenance providers Tivoli, celebrated local community heroes who make the Wakefield district a better place to live.

WDH’s chief executive Andy Wallhead, said: “Our Love Where You Live Awards have been a bigger and better success than ever before, a record number of nominations shows just how many wonderful people and groups are out there working to make Wakefield a wonderful place for everyone.

"It has been fantastic to get together for our grand final event once again, to celebrate all the hard work and dedication these fantastic people and groups put into making their neighbourhoods friendlier, safer and more enjoyable places to live.

"We hope that the prize money they receive will help them to continue the great work that they do within their communities.”

This year’s winners were:

Community Group: Ferrybridge Community Centre Association Working with Older People: Featherstone Rovers Foundation Lunch Club Digital in the Community: Ossett Through the Ages Community Champion: Ruth Wormald Arts and Culture: Xuberdance Young Achiever: Ada Butterfield Best Garden: Jack and Edward Turton Working with Young People: Ethan Harling

To learn more about the winners and nominees in this year’s awards, visit the Love Where You Live website.

If you feel inspired to nominate yourself, someone you know or a local community hero who has made a positive impact on their community, nominations for the 2023 Love Where You Live Awards will be open next summer.