Scarborough man 'delighted' to be given MBE in King's Birthday Honours
David Warner has been recognised in the official list
A Scarborough man says he is 'delighted' to be receiving an MBE as part of the King's Birthday Honours.
60 year-old David Warner has been recognised for his services to the community and voluntary sector.
He is Chair of the Local Trust which provides funds and support to areas like Barrowcliff in Scarborough.
David said: "There are 150 communities across England where power, money and responsibility have been put directly into the hands of communities for them to change their communities. It's an amazing programme to be involved with. I also think I'm getting it because I turned 60 this year and I've retired from nearly 40 years of working with charities and community groups.
"Before I left London I spent 30 odd years working in all sorts of different communities like with the homeless on the streets of London. When we moved to Scarborough, I got involved in the community up here and I joined the board of Local Trust, which is when I found out there's a Big Local in Barrowcliff.
"It's been great seeing the amazing work that the team at Barrowcliff have done for the community there. The park that they've built, the small grants programmes, the annual ice rink in the summer, the dog show that they're always trying to get me to judge.
"I've been most impressed by the development of the children's park in Barrowcliff. It looks today as good as new as it was when it was first put in. I think that's just a testament to the philosophy of Big Local which is when you put money and control into the hand of communities, they look after themselves."
David has been speaking to Greatest Hits Radio's Karen Liu:
Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden MP, said:
“This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those from Yorkshire and Humberside who have been recognised today.
“Our honours system has long been a way of recognising people who make an incredible contribution to life in Britain and beyond.
“We are now focussed on levelling up the system to ensure it represents the length and breadth of the country, and I hope that the fantastic stories this year ensure more regional nominations in the future.”
David's services to the community and voluntary sector
● As Chair of a Local Trust, he puts in a huge amount of personal time and energy to build community capacity in 150 ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods across England.
● He has pushed Local Trust to secure a legacy beyond 2026 - when Big Local is set to finish and has been instrumental in developing its research and policy agenda, findings from which were recently referenced in the Levelling Up White Paper.
● He has gone above and beyond to maximise the impact of the Big Local programme: at a neighbourhood level building the capacity of residents in deprived areas across the country to achieve transformational change, whilst also achieving impact at a national level through gathering and sharing learning with policy leaders on the importance of social capital and social infrastructure to our nation’s wellbeing and prosperity.
● Through his work leading the national endowment responsible for delivery of the Big Local programme, the nominee has supported 150 community-based partnerships in the biggest programme of community-led, neighbourhood change this country has ever seen.
● In doing so, he has unlocked the latent power of thousands of residents across England to ‘level up’ some of our most deprived communities.
● By 2026, when the programme is set to close, Big Local partnerships will have overseen the spend of over £190 million in lottery funding - with partnerships having invested in everything from community hubs and leisure parks to employment surgeries and solar farms.
● A relentless cheerleader for community leaders and volunteers nationwide, under his leadership Local Trust has facilitated over 3,500 local residents to take charge of improving their areas.
● These volunteers spend on average 5-10 hours a week as members of community-based partnerships, and are supported by an even greater number who deliver local projects.
● Just over a quarter had never volunteered or engaged in their community prior to their involvement.
● Alongside enabling change at a local level, he has led the strategic transformation of Local Trust from an exclusively delivery-minded place-based funder, to an organisation that plays a significant role in national policy discussions and wider learning on the importance of long-term investment to renew our nation’s social infrastructure.
● Most notably, he has been instrumental in developing Local Trust’s work on the challenges facing so-called ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, and potential initiatives to rebuild social infrastructure in these areas, thereby improving socioeconomic outcomes.
● This led to the creation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for ‘Left Behind’ Neighbourhoods.