Neil Pirie OBE

We are absolutely delighted to share that our colleague, founding director and long-standing former Chair, Neil Pirie, has been awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours. Neil has dedicated over four decades to supporting communities in Bristol, particularly in Easton, where he worked to tackle deprivation, unemployment and lack of opportunity.

 

At a time in the early 1980s when youth unemployment and social deprivation were major challenges, Neil was working at the sharp end to do something about it. Through his work at East Bristol Youth Workshops from 1981, he helped young people develop practical skills and access opportunities that simply were not otherwise available to them.

 

He has played a central role in creating real, lasting change. From helping young people into training and employment to co‑founding youth housing organisations that have supported thousands at risk of homelessness, his impact has been profound.

 

Neil was also the driving force behind the creation of East Bristol Enterprise Ltd in 1985, now Spaceworks, which continues to provide affordable workspace, support and opportunities for small businesses, creatives and community organisations across the city.

 

What began with a handful of spaces in the Old Co‑op building in Easton has grown into an organisation that now employs a dedicated team and operates a network of centres across Bristol, supporting around 200 small businesses and organisations, and many 1000s more during its existence.

 

Alongside this, Neil helped establish a number of other important community organisations. These include the East Bristol and South Bristol Youth Housing Associations, which provided safe accommodation and support for young people facing homelessness, and have gone on to evolve into services that continue to support thousands today.

 

He also co‑founded a community nursery to support local families, enabling parents, many of them single mothers, to continue their education or take up employment, and helped create a translation service, In Your Own Words, that ensured people from diverse backgrounds could access essential advice and services in their own language.

 

Many of the organisations he helped start are still thriving today, supporting people across Bristol and beyond, a lasting legacy that continues to make a difference every day.

 

Throughout all of this, Neil has given his time in a voluntary capacity, showing an extraordinary level of commitment, vision and care for the communities he has served.

 

This honour is richly deserved, and we are incredibly proud to have worked alongside him.