We were devastated by the sad news this week of the loss of our very dear colleague Councillor Bob Greenland. Bob was first elected to Monmouthshire County Council as the councillor for Devauden ward, including Llansoy, Itton, Llangwm and Wolvesnewton, in June 2004. He was soon promoted to the council’s cabinet and in 2008 when Cllr Peter Fox became council leader, Bob became his deputy.

Bob faithfully served the county as Deputy Leader of the Council for a further 14 years, during which time his contribution towards the life of our county is immeasurable. For much of his time in the council’s cabinet, he had responsibility for economic development, planning, tourism and leisure. He took his responsibilities extremely seriously and was committed to making Monmouthshire an even better place to live. He oversaw the modernisation of our leisure centres, championed new schools in Monmouth, Caldicot and Abergavenny and was instrumental in establishing the council’s investment portfolio, which introduced new revenue streams for Monmouthshire, allowing the council to protect frontline services and keep council taxes lower than they would otherwise have been. It was Bob who had the vision for the new cattle market near Raglan, which enabled the redevelopment of Abergavenny town centre, which has been a phenomenal success. Bob was always on the side of small businesses and was passionate about helping our town centres thrive.

Many residents will never know the enormous contribution Bob made to public life both here in Monmouthshire, but also more widely through his roles on the Welsh Local Government Association, the Cardiff Capital Region and the council’s regional school improvement partner, the EAS. Bob was respected across political divides and across Wales. As Council Leader, I was so grateful to be able to benefit from Bob’s wise counsel. Bob was never just a colleague, but a close friend. He was always supportive of younger councillors and was great fun to be around. Everyone who has worked with Bob over the past two decades in Monmouthshire will feel his loss deeply, such was the strength of his character.

The way Bob confronted his recent illness was so inspiring. It brought home to me the strength of faith and how you can overcome adversity through belief and determination. Bob was selfless and was always more concerned about the impact of his ill health on his family than about himself.

We will miss Bob desperately and all thoughts are with his widow Scilla and their family at this sad time.

Richard John

County Councillor for Mitchel Troy and Trellech United

Conservative Group Leader