VALE Royal Borough Council has been awarded two stars for the way it engages with its customers.

The award was presented to the council by a team of Best Value inspectors who had spent several weeks inspecting the way the council engaged its customers.

The achievement represents the council's provision of customer services across its whole range of services, which include leisure facilities, cyber cafes, the new one-stop-shop at Wyvern House, Winsford, and the Information Centre, Northwich.

Assessors state in their report: "We have assessed the council as providing a good, two star service that has promising prospects for improvement."

Council leader Bob Mather said: "I am delighted the council and its employees have received such praise. It has always been a key priority of the council to put its customers first and I am pleased we have now officially been recognised as doing this."

Chief executive Anne Bingham-Holmes said: "This award is a fantastic achievement for the organisation and one which we fully intend to improve upon.

"The Best Value inspectors said we had promising prospects for improvement and I am already developing plans to ensure that we introduce these improvements quickly."

She added: "I have committed this authority to constantly challenging the level of service it provides to customers and while this award is fantastic news it will not mean we will stand still."