OUR search for the best in Fenland enterprise starts once again as we launch the 2012 Fenland Enterprise Business Awards.

It is the fourth year of the awards and we are looking to build further on the massive success of the first three events in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

This year we have 12 awards up for grabs, 10 of which are open for entries. Some of the most keenly contested awards from previous years return, including Business Person of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Medium Business of the Year and New Business of the Year.

The Apprentice Award – set up in memory of teenager Craig Bird who was killed in a car crash in 2010 - also returns.

Craig, 18, of March, was an apprentice at the Fenland Engineering Skills Centre, at Metalcraft in Chatteris. He died in a collision with a lorry on the outskirts of Chatteris on his way home from work.

One new award this year is the Tourism Award - and we’re looking for businesses that actively promote tourism within Fenland and increasing the number of visitors to the district.

A ‘winner of winners’ will be chosen from the 10 category winners for the grand title of Business of the Year. The award was won in 2009 by Fenland Leisure Products of Christchurch, in 2010 by Chatteris-based independent retailer James Graven & Sons and last year by Delamore Young Plants of Wisbech St Mary.

A Judges Award will also be presented to a business or individual who didn’t win a category but the judges feel deserves recognition.

The competition is run in association with Fenland District Council, a supporter of the awards since they were launched. It also supports the Apprentice of the Year Award.

Local Generation (The Green Award), Larkfleet Homes (Customer Service Award) and Whiting & Partners (Business of the Year) have also pledged their support.

• The criteria for each category is in the panel on this page. For more information on each award and to enter, visit www.fenlandbusinessawards.co.uk