arts support: For the fourth time in five years, Darlington Building Society has won a major award at the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards Ceremony. The society won the award for support of the arts for the second year running, in particular its support for Darlington Civic Theatre and Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum.

MP VISITS: Redcar Vera Baird MP congratulated Sure Start Grangetown and South Bank last week, after it was named the North-East small business winner in the Edge Employer Awards 2006. The Edge Employer Awards reward organisations that provide outstanding learning opportunities for 14 to 25-year-olds.

BRITAIN'S BEST: GNER has been named the best rail operator in Britain at the inaugural British Travel Awards. The awards celebrate excellence and outstanding achievement in the British travel, hospitality and tourism industry.

Investor award: Excavator manufacturer Komatsu UK has been awarded Investors in People (IiP) status for the 15th year in a row. IiP is the recognised national framework for improving business performance through the development of people to help set company objectives.

PROJECT AWARD: Wearside civil, environmental and reclamation contractor Hellens was recently presented with the Project of the Year award by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (NE). The award was made in recognition of reclamation work carried out at the former colliery and manufacturing site at Delves Lane, in Consett.

TOP AWARD: Business Link Tees Valley came top in the category for public sector organisations with fewer than 250 employees at the North of England Business Excellence Awards.

GRADE ONE: Pertemps Employment Alliance (PEA) has been awarded the highest possible grade by Government inspectors - putting it in the top five per cent of its kind in the UK. The Adult Learning Inspectorate - which inspects Government-funded learning facilities - judged PEA's overall leadership and management of Employment Zone as "outstanding", awarding the top grade. PEA has been running Employment Zone - which aims to reduce unemployment in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland - for almost three years and has placed more than 2,500 people into work.

LIFETIME ACHIVEMENT: Malcolm Downs, development manager for Northallerton-based Yorwaste, has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2006 National Recycling Awards. The award acknowledges people whose hard work and devotion makes a difference in the recycling industry.

TRAINEE'S HONOUR: At 24, Newcastle University student Carinna Perkin is the youngest trainee architect in the UK to wina G4C Umbrella Group Award for her passion about the built environment and commitment to social architecture.

DEPOT AWARD: NDL Darlington Limited, a haulage company based on the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, in County Durham, has been named Marketing Depot of the Year by the United Pallet Network (UK) Ltd at its National Conference and Award Ceremony.