THE vice-president of Chester Civic Trust Stephen Langtree was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

For more than 20 years, he has worked tirelessly to preserve the historical characteristics of the city of Chester and support plans for high-quality developments and improvements.

This prestigious accolade, awarded for services to the community of Cheshire, came as a surprise to Mr Langtree who had no idea that his colleagues at the Civic Trust had nominated him.

He said: “It’s an honour I’d like to share with everyone in Chester Civic Trust because we have always worked as a team and we are very lucky to have so many enthusiastic, dedicated and well-informed members.

“It’s true that I’ve lived and breathed the Civic Trust for many years but it’s never been for any personal reward. The satisfaction comes from successful initiatives to improve Chester and from influencing debate about new developments.”

Mr Langtree was nominated by his colleagues in February this year in a letter to the Honours and Appointments Secretariat.

It said: “He has shown a single-minded dedication to improving the quality of life of residents in Chester and upgrading the city’s physical environment.

“I would like to draw attention to Steve’s love of the city and its history and his ability to communicate this to a wide range of audiences.

“His infectious way of communicating instils in his audiences a desire to get more involved in civic life and the future planning of the city. For this reason alone, Steve is a worthy candidate for a UK honour.”

Mr Langtree joined Chester Civic Trust in 1987 and was made chairman from 1991-1994 and 1994-2001.

He is also chairman of community arts campaign group Art for Art’s Sake and Chester in Concert as well as member of the Rotary Club of Chester, Northwest Historical Environment Forum and Chester Historical Buildings Preservation Trust.