I WAS overwhelmed by the success of last year’s Good Neighbours Awards.

Through it, I met dozens of people who make Blackburn with Darwen a better place, says council leader Kate Hollern.

I set up the awards to celebrate people who had never been recognised before for the work they do to make their communities tick.

Friendliness and neighbourliness is something that has always been strong in this borough.

Indeed, Blackburn with Darwen is one of most, if not the most, friendliest places I have lived.

That community spirit is also shown in the success of Your Call. More and more people are gathering under the Your Call banner and fighting to make the borough a better place.

Let’s make no bones about it. We face tough times. Cuts to public services and a tough economic situation mean families and communities are finding it difficult.

But I also think there is light at the end of the tunnel because there are a lot of passionate people in Blackburn with Darwen, people who want to make the borough the best it can possibly be. From residents getting together to clean their areas, to good neighbours making sure elderly people on their street are safe and well, the ethos of Your Call can be found all across the borough.

Your Call, at its simplest, is about everyone in the borough, working together, listening to each other and finding solutions together.

And it is not just residents the council is working with to find solutions to make Blackburn with Darwen better.

Businesses are also embracing the idea, including taking part in a special young people’s speed networking event and getting together to make Small Business Saturday a big success.

My pledge is that the council will listen to residents and also support those who have ideas to improve things. My door is always open and I want people to tell me their views and their ideas.

I want this council to never give 99 reasons why something can’t be done when a resident comes to us with an idea. I want us to say ‘let’s see what can be done’.