A British businessman has told GB News he has been left “overwhelmed” with the praise handed to him by Havering locals after saving the community’s St George’s Day celebration.
Dean Floyd, CEO of Chigwell Construction, donated £9,000 to save the Saint George’s Day Scout parade in Romford after the local council threatened to axe the event due to “traffic management costs”.
Speaking to GB News earlier this week, Havering Councillor Michael White celebrated the fundraising efforts of Mr Floyd and residents who have enabled the annual parade to go ahead.
Mr White told host Martin Daubney: “The good news is, the parade is going ahead. I want to say thank you to all those who contributed, and in particular, Chigwell Construction, who are a local business.
“They have stepped up to the mark and have made a sizeable donation to the JustGiving page.”
Revealing why he donated the £9,000 the council needed to give the parade the green light, Mr Floyd told GB News that when he learned that the event was at risk, he was “disgusted” by the “poor decision” of the council.
He said: “I got a telephone call from Councillor Ray Best, who said to me that this event was in jeopardy. I thought it was very poor, and it should be allowed to go ahead.
“Yes, £9,000 is a lot of money, but in the scheme of local authority, the Metropolitan Police, it’s not a lot of money. We’re talking about children here, this is a Scout’s march, it’s not any other march.
Businessman Dean Floyd has told GB News he is ‘overwhelmed’ with the response after donating to save Havering’s St George’s Day parade
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ROMFORD DISTRICT SCOUTS / GB NEWS
“And for anyone to cut the funding, in my opinion, was disgusting.”
Telling GB News about the response he has had from locals following his donation, Mr Floyd said it has been “overwhelming” to see the praise on social media, and assured he is “not a hero”.
He said: “We certainly didn’t do it for publicity, we done it purely just to help out the local community, as we always do. But if you look at the Facebook, the amount of comments that we’ve had, it’s been overwhelming.
“I’ve got one chap in the pub on the Victoria Road, he said, come down and I’ll buy as many pints as you like. It’s been overwhelming, and I’ve been portrayed as a hero, but I’m certainly not a hero.”
Earlier this week, Havering councillor Michael White heaped praise on GB News for the donations offered by locals
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GB NEWS
Noting how his company works with housing associations in the community to help maintain “social value”, Mr Floyd admitted he and his company do a lot of charitable work for local residents.
He explained: “We’re in social housing, we do a lot for social value, that’s part of what we have to do in order to secure contracts, and I work very hard with a lot of housing associations in the London Borough of Havering.
“We’ve got showrooms in the London Borough of Havering, and over the years we’ve done a number of supportive things, the carnivals and the Christmas celebrations where we hand over our showroom to the local community.
“We have about 700 children come in there and we fund a prize for every child, generally the first Friday of every December.”
Mr Floyd told GB News that he is ‘not a hero’ despite being ‘overwhelmed’ with praise on social media
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GB NEWS
In a statement, a spokesman for Havering Council told GB News: “We want local events to take place safely, and we work closely with organisers to help them meet the legal requirements that apply to all processions using the public highway.”
Acting Chief Inspector, Charlie Routley told GB News: “We fully support the Scouts St George’s Day parade in Havering and understand how important it is to the local community.
“We are continuing to work closely with local partners in the hope that the event can take place.
“In line with national policing guidance, responsibilities such as road closures sit with the event organisers and local authorities, allowing our officers to focus on wider safety issues, risks and responding to ambulances.”