Chamber thanks distinguished Lord Lieutenant as Burton Agnes Hall hosts Bridlington members

Pictured at the meeting are Mrs Cunliffe-Lister (centre) with Dr Ian Kelly (second left) and Bridlington Chair John Hesp (second right) with Adrian Shaw (left) and Neil Waterhouse.

BURTON Agnes Hall, near Driffield, was the setting for the Spring meeting of the Chamber’s Bridlington members.

Hosted by the Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire, the Hon Dame Susan Cunliffe-Lister, DCVO, members discussed the issues of the day affecting Yorkshire’s East Coast tourist spot, the local economy, transport and business, before handing over to Mrs Cunliffe-Lister to learn more about the role of Lord Lieutenant.

Having been in post since 2005 she outlined how she has helped to support the local community and arrange Royal visits during her time in office.

Mrs Cunliffe-Lister noted there are 99 Lord Lieutenants in the UK today, 35 in Scotland and 47 in England. A Lord-Lieutenant is the Queen’s representative in the county and it is her duty to uphold the dignity of the Crown. As the Queen’s representative in the county, the Lord-Lieutenant’s role is non-political, the role is unpaid, and wears a badge when on duty.

Among her duties are organising Royal visits to the county and to meet and attend Her Majesty and Members of the Royal Family, plus visiting Heads of State. She also advises on honour nominations, submits names to Buckingham Palace for attendance at one of Her Majesty’s royal garden parties, presents awards to organisations and companies such as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise or the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and presents awards to individuals such as CBEs, OBEs, MBEs when the recipient cannot for some reason go to Buckingham Palace. She may also present bravery awards and the Elizabeth Cross.

Mrs Cunliffe-Lister told the meeting how she had arranged Royal visits for Prince Charles to come to Bridlington, and for the Queen to visit Hull during the City of Culture year in 2017, as well as several visits by The Princess Royal.

She highlighted her work with the Armed Forces and told business leaders that it was well worth getting involved with and urged businesses to consider employing military veterans. She said the cadets also make great prospective employees because they are so well trained.

She also works with the Advisory Committee which appoints magistrates, as well as attending a lot of charity and civic events. She said it always amazed her to see the number of charities there are locally.

In paying tribute to the Lord Lieutenant, who will retire from her post in November, Chamber Chief Executive Dr Ian Kelly thanked her for her many years of service, adding that he knew of no better Lord Lieutenant in the UK. He said she was an outstanding role model for the Hull and East Riding region. Dr Kelly also thanked the Cunliffe-Lister family for supporting the International Jazz Festival at Burton Agnes in recent years and welcoming the Chamber’s guests from the Caribbean.

Mrs Cunliffe-Lister said Lord Lieutenants have to retire at 75, and she had held the role for the last 14 years. The thing she had enjoyed most of all was finding out about all the things that go on in Hull and the East Riding that you would never normally hear about in the media. “There are some amazing businesses and people and it would be great to hear more about them in the Press,” she added.