The National Association of Local Councils has announced the nine winners of its Star Council Awards.

Farnham Town Council entered the Digital Communication of the Year category and was shortlisted as a finalist along with just two other councils. The winners were announced at a presentation in Birmingham on 27 October and saw Farnham winning one of two runner-up awards. The overall winner of the category was Stone Parish Council in Kent.

Councillor John Ward, Leader of the Council received the award and said: “These awards celebrate some of the finest examples of best practice among the 10,000 town and parish council in England and Wales, so I am thrilled that we made it through to the final.

“We received a special mention for our online Report-It service, which aims to take the guess work out of deciding which authority to contact for common problems such as graffiti, a pot hole or a faulty ticket machine in the car park. We also received recognition for a live transatlantic link-up that we held with the borough of Woodland Park in New Jersey. The awards highlighted some of the fantastic work that is happening at a local level and I look forward to bringing some of the ideas to Farnham.”

The Digital Communications Award sought to commend the council that demonstrated the most impressive use of technology and cutting-edge communications. The judges looked for examples of how new technologies have been used positively to interact with communities.

Farnham Town Council has been using digital communications to engage with residents, visitors and the business community for many years. In 2014, residents and members of local groups and organisations played a large part in influencing the design and content of the new website. The site provides a great deal of local information and aims to promote Farnham and to support the local economy.

The Star Council entries were judged by a panel that included representatives from the Department of Communities and Local Government, Action with Rural Communities England, Society of Local Council Clerks, NALC, organisations in the Localism Alliance and the award sponsors.

Farnham Town Council was a runner-up in the Digital Communications Category of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Star Council Awards. Pictured from left to right is: Iain Lynch, Town Clerk, Cllr John Ward, Leader of the Council and Dr Jonathan Owen, Chief Executive at NALC.