Christopher Pennell receives his MBE from the Queen

A former Peak District National Park Authority member has received an honour from the Queen.

Christopher Pennell was appointed an MBE in the birthday honours for his services to heritage in the East Midlands, including the national park.

Mr Pennell, 67, chaired the authority’s audit resources and performance committee for three years, from July 2011 to July 2014 and was the deputy chair of Moors for the Future. He was appointed to the authority by the Secretary of State in 2005.

A former manager in the mining industry, he played a leading role in protecting the national park landscape and safeguarding its natural beauty.

He said: “I was really pleased when I heard about it and feel very honoured to have received the MBE from Her Majesty the Queen herself.

“It felt doubly pleasing to receive this award; first, because it is a terrific personal endorsement from my former colleagues in the built- and natural-heritage world, and also because it shows that, after a long industrial career, it is possible to successfully reinvent yourself in a new environmental career.”

He is a former National Trust director for the East Midlands and board member of Natural England. He also chaired the Heritage Lottery Fund’s East Midlands committee for six years.

Mr Pennell, who lives close to the national park border on the edge of Sheffield, is currently a trustee of Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and a supporter of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and Friends of the Peak District.