United Utilities announced as sponsor of in-Cumbria business award

On November 24, the cream of the county’s business community will come together at The Halston, Carlisle, to celebrate their achievements at the Newsquest Cumbria event. 

Awards are up for grabs in 12 categories, including the highly respected accolade of Businessperson of the Year and the special award for Lifetime Contribution to Cumbria.

United Utilities will be the headline sponsor following its support of a glittering evening last year.

Stand-up comedian and writer Cally Beaton has been announced as the presenter for the evening.

Cally, who was a regular visitor to Cumbria as a child, is an award-winning comic, who has won accolades for her performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as appearing on TV shows including The Apprentice, You’re Fired and QI.

Cally said: “I love nothing better than hosting a knees-up, I mean awards ceremony, but this isn’t just any old awards ceremony!

“With fond memories of childhood holidays in Cumbria, I could not be more delighted to be presenting the in-Cumbria Awards and to finally be doing something with my life that my parents approve of.”

Ian McCoy, stakeholder manager at United Utilities, said: “We’re delighted to be sponsoring the in-Cumbria Business Awards again this year. It’s always a great occasion and we’re looking forward to celebrating the success and contributions of companies from right across the county.

“Cumbria is at the very heart of our business - from the reservoirs that provide the county and the wider region with our water, to the wider catchment land we own and manage.

"We’re also incredibly proud to have one of our call centre teams based in Whitehaven. They’ve been continuing to work hard throughout the last year, including periods of time at home during the pandemic.

“Their hard work and customer focus has recently been recognised by the Institute of Customer Service who awarded them a service mark with distinction.

“Over the last year we’ve continued with the construction of our £300m project to provide West Cumbria with a new, more resilient supply of water from Thirlmere. This has involved the construction of a new 62-mile pipeline, a new treatment works and service reservoirs.

“Despite the challenges the pandemic has thrown at the project, we’re pleased that the first customers started to receive water through this new supply system from the end of June with the rest receiving their supply by September. And that’s thanks to the support we’ve had from a fantastic group of local contractors, from galvanised steel manufacturers and haulage contractors to dry stone wall builders and cleaning companies.

“The project has provided employment for more than 50 Cumbrian firms and injected £52m into the local economy. At the same time, we’ve been able to provide placements for eight young people who were not in employment, education or training and jobs for three apprentices.

“We are looking forward to seeing some inspirational entries at this year’s awards and hope everyone attending has a great night. Good luck everyone.”

READ MORE: New services added to enhance support through Cumbria Business Growth Hub