Fareham councillor who died with Covid-19 set to be honoured by borough council

Fareham Borough Council will make Keith Evans an honorary alderman after he put in more than 30 years of exemplary service.

He died at Queen Alexandra Hospital after contracting Covid-19 in December last year.

Council leader Cllr Sean Woodward said Keith was ‘diligent’ and ‘gentle’.

‘Keith was one of my fellow ward councillors,’ he said. ‘Apart from two years he was on Fareham council all the way from 1988 until he died in 2020.

‘Keith and I had a shared aim for 25 years to get a leisure centre built in the western wards in Fareham.

‘We worked very hard to achieve that. It took a quarter of a century and now we have the Holly Hill Leisure Centre.

‘He was very dedicated and diligent. When he spoke it was quiet but everybody listened because he always had something useful and powerful to say.

‘He was an absolutely lovely man, very diligent, very gentle, in every sense of the word.

‘He was an excellent councillor. That’s why we’re bestowing upon him the highest honour a council can bestow upon a previous councillor. It's just a shame he’s not there to see it.’

Cllr Evans was an elected representative for the Sarisbury and Locks Heath wards. He worked on the council as the executive member for planning and development.

In 2005 he was elected to Hampshire County Council where he chaired the River Hamble Harbour Board.

Susan Bayford, a fellow Locks Heath councillor who worked with Keith for many years, said he was ‘excellent’ and ‘exemplary’.

‘He was an excellent man, a very wise, kind man, very knowledgeable particularly in the area of planning and development,’ she said.

‘He took on his role in an amazingly competent way.

‘He knew his subject through and through and was an exemplary councillor for many years.

‘He worked in the ward and the community - he was always someone to go to for advice, but also he has a great sense of humour I found.

‘I miss him greatly... it was deeply shocking to lose him. I'll never forget Keith and I’ll always thank him for the support he gave me.’

The honorary alderman title is bestowed to someone by a council who for their hard work while a member of the authority.

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