St. Mary's Chambers in Rawtenstall enjoyed a full house on Wednesday evening, as businesses and organisations from across Rossendale gathered to celebrate all that is great about business in the Valley at the Rossendale Business Awards.

The Awards, organised by Valley at Work, invited nominations from businesses and customers for outstanding performers in a number of categories, and were made possible thanks to sponsorship from a number of Rossendale-based businesses, large and small.

The awards were attended by The Mayor of Rossendale, Councillor Gladys Sandiford, and were compered by Rossendale Radio's Big H. Guests were greeted with champagne and the atmosphere was lively with the sound of chatter as people got to know one another, and made the most of the opportunity to network with one another and start to build relationships.

The winners of the Rossendale Business Awards 2011 were:

• Large Business of the Year, sponsored by Rossendales: Coates Engineering. Also shortlisted were JJ Ormerod and Winfields.
• Small Business of the Year, sponsored by AM Accounting Services: William Dyer Electrical (UK) Ltd. Also shortlisted were La Pointe Dancewear Boutique, Radiant Physiotheraphy and The Royal Court Theatre in Bacup.
• Made in Rossendale, sponsored by Kingfisher Business Centres: Soulmate Food. Also shortlisted were CV-italent and Thompson FM.
• Rossendale's Favourite Businesses, sponsored by Metis HR: ISSL. Also shortlisted were AboutMyArea/ROSSENDALE and The Deli.
• Website of the Year, sponsored by ISSL: Rossendale Raptors. Also shortlisted were CV-italent and Metis HR.
• New Business of the Year, sponsored by Business Over Breakfast: Earth Angels. Also shortlisted were Inspirations and Metis HR.
• Business and the Community, sponsored by REAL: Incredible Edible Rossendale. Also shortlisted were Agapao and Dansworks!
• Tourism Business of the Year, sponsored by CBT International Travel: The Royal Court Theatre, Bacup. Also shortlisted were the Horse and Bamboo Theatre, Waterfoot and Russian Tea Rooms.
• Retailer of the Year, sponsored by Rawtenstall Chamber of Commerce: The Deli. Also shortlisted were Neary's Convenience Store, Riley's Butchers and Roland's Florist.

There were double celebrations for Incredible Edible Rossendale, who were riding high after also being awarded a Level 4 Award by the Royal Horticultural Society, at a ceremony in Southport earlier in the day.

In recognition of the high calibre of nominations for the various categories, two special awards were presented by Valley at Work, with the worthy recipients being Metis HR and CV-italent.

The Mayor of Rossendale Councillor Gladys Sandiford commented that she thoroughly enjoyed the evening and "the buzz" that there was around the Awards and in the room on the evening.

Alison Driver, Managing Director of Metis HR said: "What a wonderful awards evening. It's obvious that there was a great deal of hard work behind the scenes to create an event of such quality. I was thrilled to receive the surprise Special Recognition Award from Valley at Work. To receive such public recognition for my efforts after only seven months was truly amazing."

If you would like to experience Valley at Work for yourself, the next meeting will be held on Tuesday 1st November at the Council Chambers in Whitworth, starting at 6.00pm. You can find out more about Valley at Work membership at www.valleyatwork.co.uk.