It was with sadness, that I read about the death of former Councillor John Newman in the Hereford Times last week. With the passing of time it is easy to forget that John played a significant part in the regeneration of South Wye. South Wye looked very different twenty five years ago, and without the political support of John, it might have been more difficult to have turned the area into the place it is today.

When in 1995, I suggested to then Cllr John Newman, that we should join forces to show political solidarity and that we could not expect other community leaders to work together if we could not lead by example, John immediately gave his time and energy to the forming of what became, the South Wye Regeneration Partnership.

Without John Newman’s enthusiasm and local contacts, the ‘Partnership’ of community leaders, the £4.3m government grant to regenerate, and government support for the South Wye ‘Education Action Zone’,the area might not have been the success that it became.

The communities of Hinton, Hunderton, Putson, Redhill and Newton Farm, became linked by a circular bus route. South Wye had the first two community police offices in the West Mercia force, while many other community projects, many still running today, came into being.

New community centres were built, not least the Kindle Centre, two new schools were built. The Newton Farm Advice Centre was John Newman’s particular achievement, winning as it did the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, the voluntary sectors equivalent of the MBE.

On a personal level, John kept me in check when ever, as the Chairman of the South Wye Regeneration Partnership, I came up with an outlandish idea that John felt might be hard to sell to the community at large and council colleagues. Sadly, at this time, only family were able to attend John’s funeral, but I am sure that many people would have wished to have attended to show their gratitude to one of South Wye’s great community leaders.

Chris Chappell.

Ross-on-Wye.