Regeneration specialist heads the region’s recipients

A key figure in Coventry’s regeneration has been named in a New Year Honours list which reflects the shift away from recognising business figures.

Ian Harrabin, managing director of Complex Development Projects, receives an MBE for services to heritage and regeneration in Coventry.

The Stourbridge-based former chairman of the Aerospace and Defence Federation, Robert Herman Smith, is given an OBE and Jill Dudley-Toole, chairperson of Birmingham manufacturer Frank Dudley, receives an MBE.

70% of people named in the New Year Honours List have been recognised for community service while a “strategic steer” from Prime Minister Theresa May has resulted in more honours going to people working in education and youth organisations.

They include a knighthood for Prof Alan Tuckett, professor of education at the University of Wolverhampton who has been a pioneer in the field of adult learning for 40 years.

Political recipients include Dennis Harvey, leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, who gets an OBE, and Dudley councillor and recent Mayor, Steve Waltho, receives an MBE.

West Midlands civil servants recognised include an OBE for Jim Boyle, head of infrastructure architecture at HMRC based in Telford, and an MBE for Cindy Beckford, principal programme controls manager for the High Speed Rail Phase One team.

Queen’s service medals have been awarded to West Midlands Ambulance Service deputy chief executive Diane Scott and to West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Phil Loach.

Rose Cadbury, has been awarded an MBE for philanthropy and the community in Bournville.

Ian Harrabin

Regeneration specialist Ian Harrabin has been recognised for services to heritage and regeneration in Coventry.

CDP, the company he runs jointly with his brother Brian, often picks challenging sites to regenerate, including Coventry’s 1896 power station which is now Electric Wharf.

Its partnership with Coventry City Council has recently regenerated the historic Far Gosford St area as the city’s creative quarter centred on Fargo Village, and has been a leading partner in the City of Culture bid.

Harrabin, a former pupil of King Henry VIII’s School, said: “The award is a recognition of efforts of the very many people from all walks of life that I have worked with over many years towards the aim of making Coventry a great place again.

“For the first time in my life, this is really within our grasp and it just shows that there are no limits to what we can achieve by working together. Everyone has their own individual talents and by combining together we have become a pretty unstoppable force for good.

“I wouldn’t have been able to achieve half of what I’ve done over the years without the never-ending support of my husband José, my assistant Kate and my family.

“We inspire and encourage each other and share the ups and downs. It is perhaps apt that the secret for Coventry’s brighter future has been for the city to pull together like a big family.”

Harrabin is also chairman of Historic Coventry Trust, the charity leading the revival of Coventry’s historic buildings, and a Trustee of City of Culture 2021.

Prof Alan Tuckett, professor of education at the University of Wolverhampton

Prof Alan Tuckett has had a distinguished career in adult education that has earned him an international reputation over four decades.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning, has honorary doctorates from eight universities, and his knighthood follows an OBE awarded in 1995.

Tuckett, Professor of Education at Wolverhampton University, has dedicated his career to breaking down barriers preventing adults from accessing education.

As president of the International Council for Adult Education, he advocated lifelong learning as a sustainable development goal. While chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, he established
Adult Learners’ Week, now the Festival of Learning, celebrated annually in over 50 countries.

He said: “I am both honoured and humbled by the award, and delighted that the importance of adult learning to an enlightened democracy has been recognised in this way.”

Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Geoff Layer, added: “Throughout his illustrious career, Prof Sir Alan Tuckett has forged a reputation as ‘the voice of adult education’ and his work has been dedicated to breaking down barriers enabling adults to access education.

“40 years after helping to establish the very idea of the ‘adult learner’ in the 1970s, today he inspires the next generation of educators in his role as professor at the University of Wolverhampton.”