THE Economic Development Team at East Cambridgeshire District Council is celebrating success after winning two eastern regional awards from the Association for Town Centre Management 2006. The awards, for enhancing the retail offer and the overall winners

THE Economic Development Team at East Cambridgeshire District Council is celebrating success after winning two eastern regional awards from the Association for Town Centre Management 2006.

The awards, for enhancing the retail offer and the overall winners' winner, were presented to the council for its PRIDE retail training courses, run in partnership with Huntingdonshire District Council.

The judges praised the training project for helping businesses improve the shopping experience of their customers by providing training and support at local venues at times to suit local business people

Sally Bonnett, regeneration officer at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "The project aimed to increase customers in our local towns and encourage residents to shop locally. We were successful because we had a clear focus and addressed the needs of the local retailers in a way that was accessible to them.

"The best judges of whether we have been a success were the 174 people who went on the course. In each case they marked the programme as 'excellent' and we have heard back from many of them who have said they have noticed a real difference in their customer numbers since the training."

As the project was named as the overall winner for the eastern region, it is now one of 12 to go forward to the National Association of Town Centre Management Awards, which will be presented on March 13.