New Year honours for Lancashire's business community

Members of the Lancashire business community have been recognised on the Queen's New Year's Honours list.

Damian and Helen Broughton, founders of Lytham-based Danbro,  have been awarded MBEs for their work with the self-employed, small businesses and the local community.

The pair founded accountancy and professional employment business Danbro in 1999 to provide financial services to contractors, self-employed individuals, freelance workers, sole traders, those with their own limited company and small businesses.

Damian said: “It’s unbelievable to have had our names put forward and we are very honoured to have been considered.

Helen added: “We’ve always had a great affinity for the people we work with and the community we live in. We are both Lancashire bred and we love the people here – they are great fun and really down to earth."

Professor Roger Kemp, from the professorial fellow engineering department at the University of Lancaster, was also awarded an MBE for services to engineering. His research includes the safety regulation of the nuclear industry as well as energy use and safety regulation of transport systems.

He also spent several years in Paris as project director of the consortium that designed and built the Eurostar trains.

Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire, Peter Mileham, has been awarded an OBE for services to the community in Lancashire. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire from 2011 to 2012 and is an honorary fellow of the University of Central Lancashire.

Over the years, Peter has served on the boards of the North West Chambers of Commerce and was National President of the British Chambers of Commerce between 2006 and 2008.

Catherine Hill, deputy principal of Blackpool and The Fylde College, has been awarded an OBE for services to education. For the past 30 years Cath has dedicated herself to the Further Education sector and is passionate about helping students succeed, progress to employment and become productive members of the community.

Catherine said: “It gives me great pleasure to accept this honour. I am humbled that the work that I am so fervently passionate and committed to has been recognised. I would like to thank the teams of people I have worked with across the years, all of whom played a role in me receiving this honour.”