BURNLEY has picked up the big Green Apple award for being the greenest council in the UK.

Council leader Coun Kath Reade, and David Brown, director of development and engineering services, are travelling to London on Monday to collect the prestigious award.

Coun Reade will receive a crystal apple and green flag from actress Jenny Seagrove.

Burnley won the title for the work it is doing to promote conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, to minimise environmental pollution and to educate and influence others.

The council came out top of 54 other local authority prize winners in a competition organised by the Green Organisation and Municipal Journal.

Burnley won the English District Council category as well as being overall winner out of more than 100 local authorities who entered the comp- etition.

The council works with and supports Burnley Wildlife Partnership, which undertakes community projects particularly with children, Going For Green, a government initiative undertaking a community project in South West Burnley, and the Centre of Environmental Excellence run by the council with the support of Burnley College and the private sector at Towneley Natural History Centre.

Coun Reade said: "We regard this as just the start.

"We have much more work to do. There is no more important task than protecting the environment for future generations.''

Coun John Greenwood, chairman of the planning and environment committee, paid tribute to the work of Sue McNulty, the council's environment manager, who had worked so hard for a marvellous result.

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