Jamie Horton from Castletown Town Commissioners speaks to Julie Blackburn after they won the Community Initiative of the Year Awards at the 2023 Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.
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00:00 I'm here with Jamie Walton, Chairman of Castletown Commissioners, who have won the Community
00:05 Award at our Awards for Excellence. Castletown, it's very much, it's one apart. What you've
00:14 done, you've done some very different things down there that have really made the community
00:20 sing and enjoy themselves together. Do you want to explain a bit about that?
00:25 Yes, I've always thought that Castletown is more than just a castle and we had a lovely
00:30 market square and it was being used as a car park and I thought it could be much better.
00:36 There's so much things we could do with a car park. It shouldn't be a car park. So we
00:43 asked the staff, the workers on the street, we've done surveys with them and asked what
00:48 do people want with Castletown Square and the overwhelming majority said that they wanted
00:55 to be a community space for the people of Castletown. So that's what we've tried to
00:59 achieve. We've made some tough decisions, we've made some controversial decisions, but
01:06 I feel that we're driving the town forward and I think the community space this summer
01:12 worked fantastically. We had the rugby on as well in the winter and it's just there's
01:16 so much that we can do with Castletown Square other than just being a car park.
01:20 Yes, because the whole community has really embraced it.
01:23 They have, yes.
01:23 They are out there in the evenings with their kids, they're having a drink, they're playing
01:28 table tennis.
01:29 Table tennis and all sorts of things.
01:31 Playing the piano.
01:32 And it's a safe environment for families to sit, especially when it's a lovely day.
01:36 I know we don't get many of them, but when it's a lovely day Castletown Square is fantastic
01:40 and the backdrop of the castle.
01:42 Yeah, of course that makes it extra special.
01:44 It is so great and you can see the tourists coming to Castletown, they're having their
01:49 photograph taken in the square, you know, in the backdrop.
01:52 In the big deck chair.
01:53 Yeah, in the big deck chair, because you can't get out of it and try and sit in it.
01:56 Congratulations, well done.
01:59 Overwhelming, thank you very much.
02:00 Very good winner.
02:01 Thank you, cheers.
02:02 Cheers.
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