Longstanding District Councillor Peter Burley has been remembered as a popular member of both the Council and his community, which he served with dedication.
He has died, aged 80, following a serious fall at his home.
Cllr Burley had represented Bracebridge Heath, and formerly Waddington East, for 17 and a half years after first being elected as a district councillor in May 2007. He had also been a parish councillor locally in Bracebridge Heath since 1999.
During his period on North Kesteven District Council he was an Executive Board Member with special interest for Environment & Public Protection – overseeing waste services, environmental health, building control and licencing – from 2017 to 2019, and a held a number of committee positions, including current vice-chairman of the planning committee.
Council leader Cllr Richard Wright said: “Peter Burley was a much respected and popular councillor in his community, Bracebridge Heath, and a popular Member at NKDC.
“It was very rare for him to fall out with anyone. Never one to shout or get agitated, he always found a way to make his point gently and persuasively and was committed to improving lives across the District as well as in his Ward.
“Peter also had enormous respect for the work of colleagues across the Council’s organisation and in fact stood for re-election at the 2023 election because as Pat, his wife said ' the Council and what it does, was his life'. Peter will be sorely missed and our hearts go out to Pat and the family.”
The Council’s Interim Chief Executive Russell Stone said: “Cllr Burley will be remembered as a dedicated councillor, determined to make a difference for the people he represented. We all send our thoughts and condolences to his family and friends, and the local community that he represented on North Kesteven DC so well."
The Bracebridge Heath Ward continues to be represented by fellow Conservative, Cllr Lindsey Cawrey. Arrangements for a by-election to fill the vacancy will follow after the funeral.
Having chaired two overview and scrutiny panels from 2011, and vice-chaired the Members’ IT Reference Group, he was latterly vice-chairman of the planning committee and an active member on the Audit Committee and Flourishing Communities Scrutiny Committee.