Harrogate Borough Council's housing service is the country's top performer and staff are celebrating news that they have been shortlisted in three different 2008 housing awards.

They have been chosen from 130 entries as finalist in the Sustainable Social Housing Landlord of the Year category for the Inside Housing National Awards.

This is the first ever awards scheme in the UK to focus on the best 'green' social housing projects constructed in the UK and the organisations responsible for them.

Organised by Inside Housing, the trophies will be presented at a suitably 'eco' awards ceremony being hosted in November by top impressionist and keen environmental campaigner Alistair McGowen.

The second shortlist is for the UK Housing Awards, which is the premier annual awards for the Housing professional nationally.

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The Harrogate team have been shortlisted for their ground-breaking ground source heat pump project.

The 'hat trick' is that the same team have been shortlisted to become a Beacon Council for their work on affordable housing. They are through the first round and if successful will see them honouring a commitment to share the secret of their success with other organisations under the theme of 'Homes for the Future'.

Councillor Jean Butterfield, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "This is great news for a team that works especially hard to come up with innovative projects to not only deliver first class social housing but also to make sure that we can do all we can to make our homes environmentally friendly and cost effective for residents.

"The eco awards are mainly for the work we have done to provide heat from ground and air source pumps. The council is leading the way on providing this new technology in social homes. We are also leading the way on many other housing projects and our team is consistently sought out for advice. Encouraging those in local government to share knowledge is a fundamental part of the Government's Improvement and Development Agency's knowledge management strategy. The Beacon Scheme is a prestigious award that recognises excellence in local government so, whilst we have always been happy to share our success with others, this award will recognise it at a national level."

(CD/JM)