A former Reading Borough councillor has been shortlisted for an award.

Tony Page, who stepped down in May 2024, has been recognised in the 2024 LGIU and CCLA annual Cllr Awards for Lifetime Legend.

This follows his 51 years of service at Reading Borough Council, during which he made significant contributions to the transport and planning sectors at local, regional, and national levels.

More than 350 nominations were received across five categories.

This year’s shortlist included

Community Champion:

  • Cllr Rahima Farah - Liverpool City Council
  • Cllr Louis Gardner - Cornwall Council
  • Cllr Sally Green - City of Wolverhampton Council
  • Cllr Adeel Shah - East Hampshire District Council
  • Cllr Taila Taylor - Breckland Council

Leader of the Year:

  • Cllr Marion Atkinson - Sefton Council
  • Cllr Matthew Hicks- Suffolk County Council
  • Cllr Peter Marland - Milton Keynes City Council
  • Cllr Liam Robinson - Liverpool City Council
  • Cllr Arooj Shah - Oldham Council
  • Cllr Caroline Topping - East Suffolk Council

Innovator of the Year:

  • Cllr Mark Alfrey - Erewash Borough Council
  • Cllr Jonathan Andrews - London Borough of Bromley
  • Cllr Amanda De Ryk - Lewisham Council
  • Cllr Julia Neden-Watts - London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Young Councillor of the Year:

  • Cllr Chris Burden - City of Wolverhampton Council
  • Cllr Ryan Hack - Brent Council
  • Cllr Jessica Moultrie - Cardiff Council
  • Cllr Minesh Parekh - Sheffield City Council
  • Cllr Jordan Rowse - Cornwall Council

As well as

Lifetime Legend

  • Cllr Clare Apel - Chichester District Council
  • Cllr Tony Page - Reading Borough Council
  • Cllr Steve Swift - North Lincolnshire Council
  • Cllr Lynda Thorne - Cardiff Council
  • Cllr Barry Wood - Cherwell District Council

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), said: "The judging panel was blown away by the number of extremely high-quality nominations this year, with councillors up and down the country going the extra mile for residents."

The Cllr Awards are the only national awards that celebrate and showcase the work of individual councillors.

The winners in England and Wales will be announced at the Guildhall in London on November 20.

The Cllr Awards are the only national awards that celebrate and showcase the work of individual councillors.

Mr Carr-West continued: "With councils working under enormous pressure, these awards are a hugely important way to champion what councillors achieve for the places we live."

This is the 15th year that the LGIU and CCLA have organised the annual Cllr Awards, which recognise the work of councillors across England, Wales, and Scotland.