TRIBUTES have been paid to a former deputy leader of Monmouthshire council at the first full meeting since his death in August this year. 

Councillor Bob Greenland, who represented the Devauden ward, died on August 9. 

Conservative group leader Cllr Richard John paid tribute to the man who had been deputy leader of the council from 2008 to this year’s council elections. 

Cllr John said his former colleague, “a much loved father and grandfather”, had also recently been ordained as a priest. He said: “His faith helped Bob confront his recent illness.” 

Cllr Greenland was first elected to Monmouthshire County Council in 2004 and had been the cabinet member responsible for economic development, planning and tourism. 

During that time he secured the future of the county’s leisure centres, supported the development of new schools and the relocation of the cattle market from Abergavenny to Raglan. 

Cllr John said: “He was not driven by ideology but innovative solutions and thought outside the box. As some councils in south Wales were shutting, selling off or putting leisure centres in trust he, perhaps unusual for a Conservative, kept them in public ownership. 

“Monmouth Leisure Centre is a testament to Bob’s legacy. 

“He had the vision for the new cattle market near Raglan and the phenomenal redevelopment of Abergavenny, and secured the new Morrisons. There was considerable opposition but he saw it through.” 

Cllr Greenland had also served as chair of the Education Achievement Service and had supported the building of new schools at Caldicot and Monmouth and represented the council on the Welsh Local Government Association. 

Cllr John said in the chamber he was a “superb orator who could amend a motion to within an inch of its life.” 

He also read a statement from the late councillor’s widow, Scilla, on behalf of his family who asked to “express thanks for all the wonderful cards, messages and flowers received and the amount of councillors and officer colleagues who attended the funeral.” 

Tributes were paid from across the chamber with councillors also recalling their colleague’s “sense of fun” and how sociable he was while also being dedicated to council work. 

Chief executive Paul Matthews said: “For those who didn’t know Bob you will have picked up what a wonderful person he was, for those of us who did know him we have not done him justice.” 

He also paid tribute to his work in leading the council and said: “He helped me unstitch this place and stitch it back together in a more appropriate manner.” 

A by-election for the Devauden ward is due to be held on October 20.