On 23rd February 2016, HRH The Princess Royal made a special visit to the Greenwich Peninsula for The Princess Royal Livability Awards ceremony. The evening was also attended by the Mayor of Royal Greenwich, Councillor Norman Adams and the Deputy Lieutenant of Greenwich, Dr Pieter Van Der Merwe.
Livability is a disability and community engagement charity, for which HRH is Patron. The charity holds the ceremony every year to mark and celebrate the special achievements of staff, supporters and volunteers. Nominated by their peers, the winners are recognised as being people that go the extra mile in their work and service.
HRH presented seven awards on the evening in the categories of Outstanding Staff Achievement, Outstanding Service, Outstanding Supporter and Lifetime Achievement. Forty other members of staff received certificates from the charity’s board of trustees to appreciate their work.
Dave Webber, Charity CEO said: ‘As a national charity, Livability has over 1600 members of staff, delivering disability and community focused services around the UK. Along with key supporters and volunteers, they make an immense contribution to our charity’s work and the impact on the lives of our service users. I am proud of the commitment our staff and special supporters share in creating a positive, inclusive and enabling community experience for all we serve. I look forward to all that we can achieve together through our new national office location in Greenwich.’
HRH also unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of Livability’s new national office. The charity recently moved their national office team to the Greenwich Peninsula, after 20 years in their former location of Shoreditch. The charity has placed disability accessibility and design as a major priority for the relocation project and chose the North Greenwich area for the step free benefits of the site. Engaging a specialist DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) consultant and Morgan Lovell – the UK’s leading office interior design, fit out and refurbishment specialist – the charity tasked the building team to create a working space optimised for collaboration, inclusion and accessibility.
The Mayor of Royal Greenwich, Councillor Norman Adams, said: ‘It is a privilege to have welcomed HRH The Princess Royal to the visit the Royal Borough of Greenwich and participate in Livability’s charity event for which she is patron. I am delighted that the Greenwich Peninsula has been a location of choice for Livability’s national office team and that the step-free accessibility of the area is beneficial to the charity’s service users and staff.’
