Regeneration specialist Ian Harrabin has been made an MBE for services to heritage and regeneration in Coventry
The man responsible for bringing parts of Coventry back to life has been honoured in the New Year’s Honours list.
Regeneration specialist Ian Harrabin has been made an MBE for services to heritage and regeneration in Coventry.
In addition to his work as managing director of Complex Development Projects (CDP), the 57-year-old chartered surveyor is also chairman of the Historic Coventry Trust, the charity leading the revival of Coventry’s historic buildings, and a trustee of City of Culture 2021.
Ian, 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 neverending 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.”
CDP, which Ian runs jointly with his brother Brian from offices in Coventry and London, tackles challenging sites, and looks to breathe new life into urban centres.
The company’s partnership with Coventry City Council has recently regenerated the historic Far Gosford Street area as the city’s creative quarter centred on Fargo Village, and has been a leading partner in the City of Culture bid.
In addition, CDP were responsible for turning the city’s 1896 power station into Electric Wharf, a live/work creative village which won Outstanding Place of the Decade in 2010.
Acting personally, Ian joined with the local community in 2011 to found Historic Coventry Trust to save Coventry’s Charterhouse, a former Carthusian Monastery founded by Richard II in 1385.
The Charterhouse now forms the centrepiece of plans for a new 70 acre Heritage Park – a £15million project that will provide an exceptional landscape next to the city centre.
The charity has grown in aspiration to become a National Trust for Coventry with the aim of preserving all heritage at risk for future generations and bringing buildings back into productive economic, cultural and social use.
Interesting that the Telegraph has filed this under 'Coventry City Council' even though he is supposedly totally independent of them?
