Leader of the Council honoured by the Queen

Councillor Rodney Chambers, the Leader of Medway Council, has been honoured by the Queen.

The Conservative councillor, who has run the Council for eleven years, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.

Cllr Chambers has represented both the old and new Hempstead and Wigmore wards since Medway Council was formed in 1998 and became leader of a minority Conservative administration in 2000.

The Conservatives won a majority administration in 2003, since when Cllr Chambers has seen his Conservative Group grow at consecutive elections in 2007 and last month, winning 35 of a possible 55 council seats.

Also honoured after contributions to Medway is the Chief Executive of the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, Bill Ferris, who has also been awarded an OBE.

Mr Ferris, who lives in Headcorn, is often seen at partnership meetings for the Chatham World Heritage bid and plays an active role in helping to organise the annual Armed Forces Day celebrations at Chatham Dockyard, where the first national event took place in 2009 before then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Queen’s representative the Duke of Gloucester.

Sue Groves, of Chatham, was awarded an MBE for her work as an Interventions Caseworker at HM Revenue and Custom’s Small Medium Enterprise Team in London, as was Anne Wade, for services to the community in Rochester.

Professor Jan Pahl, of the University of Kent at Canterbury, was awarded a CBE for services to Social Science, whilst the Lord Lieutenant of Kent Allan Willett CMG was awarded the Royal Victorian Order.

The full birthday honours list can be found on the Daily Telegraph’s website.