A VIDEO and photograph compilation of the highlights of the year has been released by Wellington Town Council.

The council was recognised in 2023 by the National Association of Local Councils as one of the top five in the country for its progressive approach to organising and supporting community events and groups, delivering local services, and protecting green spaces.

It started 2023 by taking ownership of more than 60 acres of open land around The Basins to protect the area for the community and is ending it with a deal to buy the town’s former district council offices to cater for staffing increases as it prepares to take on a raft of new responsibilities.

In between, the council organised a prestigious community event for the granting of the Freedom of Wellington to The Rifles in recognition of the town’s links with the regiment, some of whose antecedents fought with the Duke of Wellington in the Battle of Waterloo.

A council spokesperson said: “We would like to thank everybody for your continued support and critiques of our projects as we continue to grow and make Wellington a better place in which to live.

“It promises to be another year full of opportunities in 2024 and we cannot wait to see where it takes us.”

Wellington Mayor Cllr Marcus Barr said: “I feel so proud to be the mayor in a time when our council is working harder than they ever have before to bring in improvements which will benefit everybody in our community.

“It is an exciting time to be a councillor and in 2024 the town council will be marking the golden anniversary of when we were created.

“At the same time we are going to be entering a historic phase where local services for Wellington and Rockwell Green people are going to be managed and delivered more locally than they have been for more than 50 years.”