Lawyer and Councillor, Pranav Bhanot from Chigwell, Essex has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and has been recommended to be invested with an MBE for services to the Community in Chigwell.
50 WhatsApp and Facebook Community Hubs connecting thousands of residents across London and Essex
Committed to providing a voice, support and legal assistance for residents, Pranav personally knocked on over 2000 doors and launched and continues to coordinate approximately 50 road specific and town specific WhatsApp Groups and three area-specific Facebook Community Hubs across London and Essex connecting thousands of residents. Over the past three years, the messaging platforms have assisted in preventing crime, supporting lonely residents and providing legal support to residents on issues such as neighbour disputes, noise nuisance disputes, harassment and redundancy.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pranav used social media platforms to provide free legal guidance and assisted vulnerable residents with free half-term school meals and prescription deliveries. At the pandemic peak, approximately 1000 messages were being sent daily by residents across the messaging platforms set up by Pranav.
In 2020, he was elected as one of the youngest leaders of a local authority in the country as Chairman of Chigwell Parish Council leading a team of councillors representing three wards.
Pro bono legal guidance
As the founder of The Wedding Lawyer platform and a lawyer at Meaby and Co Solicitors, Pranav assisted at no cost over 2,500 brides and 300 hospitality businesses with the legalities surrounding cancelled weddings due to the various Covid-19 lockdowns.He also led the campaign to repatriate British students stranded in Peru and unable to return to the United Kingdom at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown. Through the use of political and legal pressure, Pranav worked on a 3-day turnaround to get the students back to the United Kingdom. Pranav was the President of the BPP Law School Students’ Association and the National President of the National Hindu Students Forum (UK) representing a total of 10,000 students.
Pranav Bhanot said, “Receiving an Honour is one of the most special days of my life. I thank my family for all their support in allowing me to work hard to serve local residents, clients and constituents. I dedicate this moment to my Grandfather who recently died and instilled in me the value of service. I stand on the shoulders of giants and there are huge amounts more to achieve and do to create a more fair and equal world.”
