Former Gosport mayor made alderman recognised for 'always doing his best'

Gosport alderman Keith Farr. Picture: Rob Thomas, Gosport & Fareham Globe

During his time at Gosport Borough Council, Keith Farr has helped veterans of the armed forces find homes, carried sandbags through the night for flooding victims and done countless hours of charity work.

The former Labour councillor represented the Elson ward from 1992-2002, Forton ward from 2002-08 and again from 2012-16.

He was also the Mayor of Gosport for a year and then continued to represent Town ward from 2016-2021.

When asked how he reacted to his appointment, Keith said: ‘You could've knocked me down with a feather, I was really pleased, it’s the icing on the cake for all I've done for the people of Gosport to be made alderman.

‘I’ve served on many committees, I was so interested in the local people and what was going on in Gosport.

‘I was fortunate enough to be made mayor, and I did many things as mayor, I thoroughly enjoyed my year.

‘I remember on Holmdale Road they had a big flood, and I was out there at 12 o'clock at night helping them out with sandbags.

‘That evening I had a call from Lakeshore Road, the flooding went all underneath the houses, I was there until about four in the morning.

‘The Armed Forces covenant, I helped get that into Gosport with Derek Kimber, we got it in place for all the ex-service people, helping them get jobs etc and it stayed there ever since.’

Throughout his time as mayor in 2015-16, he raised nearly £15,000 for nine charities with his nominated charity being Gosport and Fareham Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Cllr June Cully said that Keith always had the people's interest ‘at heart’

‘We developed a very good working relationship, we thought very similarly and it was based on trust.

‘He was president of the Gosport Lions and did a lot of charitable work for them for many years.

'We looked at all the greening issues, we wanted to protect all our open spaces.

'He would always do his best, he was known for standing up for guarding planning issues, making sure quotas were acceptable and there was sufficient parking.’

Graham Burgess, leader of the council, said that Keith was ‘brilliant’ to work with. He said: ‘He was a dedicated councillor when he was mayor and did lots of good work in the community.

‘I think it’s a fitting honour to someone who has served the community to be awarded in this way.’