Cobham Heritage Trust honoured with Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2015

The Cobham Conservation & Heritage Trust has been honoured with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

The Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust is one of 187 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award in 2015. The number of awards handed out to groups have increased by over 60% from 2014, due to an increase in high quality applications, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation. Award winners this year range from Ablaze, a charity helping to raise academic achievement amongst disadvantaged young people in Bristol to a volunteer rescue boat service on Loch Lomond.

Sir Gerald Acher CBE LVO, Chairman of the Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust said:

"This is a tremendous achievement for the Trust and its hard working committee and one which I am very proud to have been involved with. During the last decade, the Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust has gone from strength to strength tackling some ambitious projects such as entertaining 5,000 people annually on Heritage Day; creating an education programme for the local schools; and hosting HRH The Countess of Wessex for the Dedication of the £150,000 Riverhill Project to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. All of our projects such as these are run solely by our army of willing volunteers.

To achieve our goals we have involved individuals, families, local businesses, schools, clubs, Borough and County Councils, and the community spirit and cohesion of Cobham is obvious from our combined achievements. I would like to thank my wonderful committee, all our members, volunteers and supporters and I look forward to working with everyone in the next exciting ten years."

Surrey's County Councillor for Cobham, Mary Lewis, who nominated the Trust for this award, said:

"I was delighted to nominate the Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust because they have made such a positive contribution to the community spirit of Cobham over the last decade by bringing people from all walks of life together, through a variety of worthwhile and enjoyable projects. They are the sort of organisation that binds communities together, which has been invaluable to Cobham."

The Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Dame Sarah Goad DCVO JP later this summer.

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