A renowned architect from Gunton has been made a CBE for his restoration services to British heritage.

Since the 1970s Kit Martin, a projects consultant to the Prince's Regeneration Trust, has specialised in the saving and restoration of country houses by dividing them into smaller dwellings and apartments.

Mr Martin has restored and converted around twelve houses and historic buildings, including his home, Gunton Park, in north Norfolk and St Nicholas Royal Naval Hospital in Great Yarmouth.

But for the 65 year old the accolade was something he was surprised to receive and said his work is what he loves doing.

He said: 'I find what I do extremely interesting and I have loved being involved with historic and listed buildings. It's exciting to bring these buildings back to life.'

His Gunton Park restoration work on the historic landscape saw him win a Country Life Genius of the Place Award for 2007.

Mr Martin was the first director of The Prince of Wales's Phoenix Trust from 1997 to 2001 now plays a key role in the Prince's Regeneration Trust by finding solutions to save major historic buildings at risk and promote urban regeneration.

He was a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland from 1987 to 1999, is a trustee of Save Europe's Heritage and has been involved in a number of publications with Save Britain's Heritage.

The Prince's Regeneration Trust is one of The Prince's Charities of which HRH The Prince of Wales is President. They aim to ensure that historic buildings at risk of demolition or decay are preserved, regenerated and re-used.