IN THE final of our series of articles catching up on last year’s winners of the Place to be Proud of awards before nominations for this year’s event close, we talked to Geoff French CBE who earned the Lifetime Achievement award in 2017.

HAVING lived in Basingstoke for 45 years, Mr French has been a consultant engineer in and around the area throughout that time, including joining Scott Wilson in 1968.

However, he received his recognition for being a part of the Enterprise M3 group.

Mr French said: “It feels absolutely lovely to be recognised, and it feels better when you get it for having fun on the way.

“I’ve lived almost a lifetime in Basingstoke, and it has changed over the years.

“Basingstoke and the borough have worked very hard to develop Basingstoke, including the construction of the Anvil and Festival Place, and it has done a very good job at making the town more attractive.”

Mr French has not been resting on his laurels since winning. In the time since he has set up and been interim chair of Transport for the South East, a new partnership dedicated to improving the transport network of the whole of the south east of England.

The area covered includes Hampshire and stretches from Kent to the Isle of Wight.

Mr French added: “It is making sure that a fair share of the transpor t investment money is given to the south east.

We might be working on the train routes in Basingstoke, or the road conditions.”

Thinking back to the evening, Mr French believes it was not a solo effort that helped him get his lifetime achievement award.

He said: “It isn’t just recognition for you, but it comes for the whole team that is behind you and the groups that you work in. My award reflects the contributions of others as much as my own.

“I would very much encourage people to get involved, it is very good to recognise those who are working to make Basingstoke better. The awards are always a good thing, and teams of people should be recognised.”

Nominations are about to close for this year’s awards, with finalists coming to the awards ceremony at the Haymarket on June 6.

The deadline for nominations is today.

To make a nomination, go to destinationbasingstoke.co.uk/a-place-to-beproud-of.