Barry Jarvis, a well-known figure in the area, has served on the committee for nine years and has made a huge contribution to the housing sector in Moray. This award recognises the contribution made by volunteers to social employers.

He said: “This is a great personal honour, but also recognises the outstanding work carried out by the entire committee and staff teams at Osprey. We have some serious housing issues in the Moray area and the hard work to address them must continue.”

During a period as chair of the Committee he oversaw the constitutional link for Moray Housing Partnership, as it was then, with Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership – the two formally re-launched as the Osprey Group just last month.

He has also contributed to the launch of revised terms and conditions for staff, new investment in housing stock, the establishment of a new registered tenants organisation and the tenants’ scrutiny panels.

His award, which was sponsored and supported by Cunninghame Housing Association and Garrion People’s Housing Co-operative, has also been warmly welcomed by Osprey chief executive Colin Hawkins.

Mr Hawkins said: “This is richly deserved recognition for many years of outstanding service to the governance of the Osprey Group. Barry is a dedicated and hard working member of the committee and his endeavours over many years have made a huge difference to people’s lives in the Moray area.”