Businessman saves Romford St George’s Day Scout parade 2026

Key Points

• Havering’s traditional St George’s Day Scout parade in Romford was at risk of being cancelled after Havering Council said it could not cover “traffic management costs”.
• Dean Floyd, CEO of Chigwell Construction, donated £9,000 to ensure the parade could go ahead as planned.
• Havering Councillor Michael White publicly thanked Mr Floyd and other donors, saying the company had “stepped up to the mark” with a sizeable contribution to a JustGiving page.
• Councillor Ray Best contacted Mr Floyd to warn that the parade was “in jeopardy”, prompting the businessman to intervene.
• Mr Floyd said he was “disgusted” by what he described as a “poor decision” by the council to withdraw support for the children’s Scout march.
• He stressed that while £9,000 is a significant amount for an individual, it is relatively small “in the scheme of” local authority and police budgets.
• The businessman said the motivation behind the donation was purely to “help out the local community”, not to seek publicity.
• Mr Floyd described the reaction from residents as “overwhelming”, highlighting a flood of positive comments on Facebook and offers of gratitude from local pub-goers.
• Despite being portrayed as a hero by many locals, he insisted he is “certainly not a hero”.
• The episode has intensified debate locally about council funding priorities, community events and the value placed on traditional celebrations such as St George’s Day.

Romford (Britain Today News) March 14, 2026-Chigwell Construction – April 2026 – A local construction boss who stepped in with a £9,000 donation to save Havering’s St George’s Day Scout parade has said he is “overwhelmed” by the praise from residents but insists he is “not a hero”.

Why was the St George’s Day parade in Romford at risk?

Havering’s long‑running St George’s Day Scout parade, which draws in youngsters, families and community groups from across Romford, faced cancellation after Havering Council indicated it could no longer fund key logistical costs. According to the account given on GB News, officials warned that “traffic management costs” associated with road closures and safety measures meant the authority would not support the event this year.

As reported in the GB News segment featuring Councillor Michael White, the threat to the parade prompted local volunteers and residents to launch a fundraising appeal, including a JustGiving page, in a bid to keep the tradition alive. The parade, described as a central moment in the area’s civic calendar, had been seen as especially important for children involved in the Scouts and other youth organisations who typically march through Romford.

How did businessman Dean Floyd step in to save the event?

Dean Floyd, the CEO of Chigwell Construction, became involved after receiving a direct phone call about the looming cancellation. As reported by GB News, Mr Floyd recounted that Havering Councillor Ray Best rang him to say

“this event was in jeopardy”,

warning that the parade could not proceed unless the £9,000 shortfall was met.

Explaining his response in that interview, Mr Floyd said he regarded the situation as “very poor” and was determined that the children’s event should be allowed to go ahead. He provided the £9,000 that Havering Council had said was needed to cover traffic management, effectively closing the funding gap at a stroke. The money was channelled to the online fundraising effort supporting the parade, securing the necessary assurances for the march to proceed.

What has Havering Council and local politicians said about the donation?

Speaking on GB News earlier in the week, Havering Councillor Michael White praised both the businessman and ordinary residents who had contributed to the JustGiving page. In his interview with presenter Martin Daubney, Cllr White announced:

“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.”

As reported by GB News, Cllr White went on to highlight the scale of the intervention, saying of Chigwell Construction:

“They have stepped up to the mark and have made a sizeable donation to the JustGiving page.”

By explicitly naming the firm and its role, the councillor placed the company’s financial contribution at the centre of the rescue effort, while also acknowledging the wider public support that helped restore the event’s future.

Why did Dean Floyd describe the council’s decision as ‘disgusting’?

When asked by GB News why he had chosen to donate the full £9,000 required, Mr Floyd said that learning of the council’s stance had left him “disgusted”. As reported in the interview, he told the channel that withdrawing backing for the children’s parade over such a sum was, in his view, a “poor decision” that flew in the face of community values.

He argued that the amount involved, though large for a private individual, should not have been prohibitive for a public body. “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,” he said, drawing a contrast between household budgets and institutional spending. Emphasising that the event was a Scout march “for children” and “not any other march”, he added that

“for anyone to cut the funding, in my opinion, was disgusting.”

How important is the parade for local children and the community?

Throughout his comments to GB News, Mr Floyd stressed that his main concern was the impact on young people and the wider community if the parade had been scrapped. By describing it explicitly as “a Scout’s march”, he underscored that the participants were children taking pride in a longstanding local tradition. For many families in Havering and Romford, the St George’s Day parade is one of the few opportunities in the year when youth organisations can march together in a formal, public setting.

The businessman’s criticism of the council’s initial stance reflected a broader view among supporters that cancelling the event would have sent the wrong message to local youngsters about how much their activities are valued. In backing the parade, Mr Floyd aligned himself with volunteers and parents who argued that civic and cultural events for children should be protected, even at a time of pressure on council budgets.

How has the local community responded to the £9,000 donation?

Mr Floyd told GB News that the reaction from Havering residents since his intervention has been “overwhelming”, with an outpouring of gratitude both online and in person. He pointed to the response on social media, particularly Facebook, saying that

“if you look at the Facebook, the amount of comments that we’ve had, it’s been overwhelming.”

He also shared a more informal example from daily life, describing how a man in a local pub had made a generous offer to thank him personally.

“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,”

Mr Floyd recounted in his GB News interview, illustrating the warmth of feeling in the community. He noted that he had been widely portrayed as a hero in online posts and local conversations, despite his insistence that he does not see himself that way.

Why does Dean Floyd say he is ‘not a hero’?

Although he acknowledged being moved by the positive reaction, Mr Floyd was clear in his interview that he did not want to be labelled a hero.

“It’s been overwhelming, and I’ve been portrayed as a hero, but I’m certainly not a hero,”

he told GB News, downplaying his own role in the story. He suggested instead that the donation was consistent with Chigwell Construction’s broader record of community involvement.

“We certainly didn’t do it for publicity, we done it purely just to help out the local community, as we always do,”

he said, emphasising that his intention was not to seek attention or personal praise. By framing the gesture as an extension of ongoing support for local causes, he cast himself as one part of a wider network of residents, volunteers and businesses who step in when traditional events come under threat.

What does this episode reveal about funding pressures and community action?

The dispute over the St George’s Day parade has highlighted the tension between tight local authority budgets and the desire to preserve civic and cultural events. While Havering Council pointed to traffic management and associated costs as the reason it could not underwrite the parade this year, the speed with which the community rallied – culminating in Mr Floyd’s single £9,000 donation – demonstrated how strongly many residents feel about safeguarding such occasions.

At the same time, the intervention of a single businessman has prompted questions about the reliance on private generosity to maintain public celebrations. Supporters of the parade argue that the episode shows how local pride and a sense of tradition can mobilise rapid action when a cherished event is threatened. Others may see it as a case study in how philanthropy, social media campaigns and public pressure can combine to reverse unpopular decisions at town‑hall level.

How has GB News framed and reported this story?

GB News has played a prominent role in bringing the Romford episode to a wider national audience, both by hosting key voices and framing the narrative around patriotism and local pride. The channel first highlighted the funding row in a segment featuring Havering Councillor Michael White, where the focus was on the community fundraising and the eventual salvation of the parade. It then followed up with a separate interview with Dean Floyd, giving him space to explain his decision to donate and to respond to the public reaction.

By explicitly crediting Chigwell Construction and quoting both Mr Floyd and Cllr White at length, GB News has provided detailed attribution of statements while underscoring the symbolic importance of St George’s Day to many viewers. In presenting Mr Floyd’s insistence that he is “not a hero” alongside the strong praise from locals, the broadcaster has framed the story as a blend of civic activism, private generosity and contested public‑spending priorities.