David Orr awarded CBE
Retiring National Housing Federation (NHF) chief executive David Orr has been awarded a CBE.
The award for Mr Orr, who has been at the helm of the NHF since 2005, will be announced tomorrow.
Mr Orr, who will retire in September, said: “This really is a great honour. Above all else it is a recognition of the colossal contribution that housing associations make to our society.
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“I’m lucky to have worked for, and with, brilliant housing associations in England and Scotland, and really value the time I’ve had at both at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the National Housing Federation in England.
“Over my career I have seen the ambition, innovation and diversity of the housing association sector grow enormously.”
Mr Orr is a former housing association chief executive who began his career at homelessness charity Centrepoint.
Diana Warwick, chair of the NHF’s board, said: “This is a fantastic acknowledgement of a lifetime of hard work and dedication.”
In 2015, Mr Orr struck a ‘voluntary deal’ with the government to extend Right to Buy discounts to housing association tenants without legislation.
It was a controversial move, which attracted praise from many sector figures and criticism from others.
The CBE – or Commander of the Order of the British Empire – award is a higher honour than the OBE or MBE.
