Community champions honoured by outgoing Mayor

Outgoing mayor honours community champions and business for outstanding service to Basingstoke

FIVE community champions and one business from Basingstoke have been honoured with special awards for their outstanding service to the borough.

Basingstoke and Deane’s outgoing Mayor Cllr Onnalee Cubitt gave the awards at the annual mayor making ceremony, which took place on Thursday, May 12.

The awards mark the contribution they have made – and continue to make – to community life in the borough.

Cllr Cubitt chose to honour Kishor Patel for his outstanding contribution to both our wider community and to the Basingstoke Hindu Society, Padre Charles Lewis for his outstanding service to the community and the cadets and Captain (Rtd) Phil Lloyd for his unstinting support for the community in general and Abbey Court and the elderly in particular.

The business award was presented to hyperTunnel Limited.

The Mayor also presented two special ‘one-off’ awards for services to the community to Suresh Kotecha and Wing Commander Mark Trevena.

Cllr Cubitt said: “Without incredible community-minded people and businesses like these, our borough would be a different place. It is important that they are recognised for the work they do in our communities and thanked on behalf of the whole borough.”

Kishor Patel lives and works in Basingstoke and has served as a community leader for over 20 years.

He is the former chairman of Basingstoke Hindu Society, is volunteer leader of the Carnival Hall Community Centre and is vice-chair of a school governing board.

Cllr Cubitt paid tribute to him, saying: “Kishor makes an outstanding contribution to our community. He and his wife Surya are committed to the Basingstoke Hindu Society and work tirelessly for the group. They are an inspiration.”

Padre Charles Lewis enjoyed a career in the civil service for 40 years, retiring in 2008. He joined the Air Training Corps in 1965 as a cadet and retired in 2004 as a trainer. In 2012 he became a licensed Church of England Minister and took up chaplaincies in both military and civilian ministries.

Presenting the awards Cllr Cubitt said: “Charles and his wife Marilyn are dedicated hardworking, supportive, resourceful and exemplary in all they do for our wider community and the cadets.”

Captain (Rtd) Phil Lloyd joined the Army in 1965 at the age of 15. He served for 25 years both in the UK and abroad. He moved to Basingstoke and Deane in 2006 and spent nearly five years volunteering with Citizens Advice. He also volunteered with NeighbourCare and was matched with a Second World War army veteran, who Phil and his family ‘adopted’ into their family. When he moved into Abbey Court, Phil decided to commit his time to become their resident volunteer.

Cllr Cubitt said: “Phil and his wife Lynn are inspirational and dedicated in their support for our community in general and Abbey Court and our elderly in particular. He goes above and beyond. The joy he has given to the residents and the support he provides for the staff at Abbey Court is sustained and selfless.”

hyperTunnel Limited is a disruption technology start up in Basing View. It was founded in 2018 and already has 44 staff. It was recently named as one of the top 50 construction technology start ups in the world. Its cutting edge technology using Artificial Intelligence digital surveying and use of Swarm Robotics to radically change underground construction is ground breaking. Cllr Cubitt said: "It's important to celebrate innovation in our borough and hyperTunnel is a great example of an exciting and successful start up company that has made Basingstoke and Deane their home."