Tribute to Derek Phillips

It is with great sadness that West Ewell & Ruxley Residents Association announces the death of Councillor Derek Phillips. Derek passed away on 10th December after a long & bravely borne illness.

Derek was always part of this community, before becoming chair of the residents association he was a road steward & committee member for many years. He was successfully elected as a councillor in the 2003 Borough Election representing Ruxley ward.

Derek has been acknowledged, council wide, as one of the Borough's hardest working councillors. He regularly cycled around the ward, checking on the streets and speaking with people he met. He set up a "blog" so that anyone could keep up to date with his activities via the Internet. As a member of the Hospital Cluster Group he ensured that the needs of Clarendon Park residents were being addressed in council.

Derek set up a system of consultation so that residents could be aware of the plans of mobile phone companies regarding mast structures well ahead of any planning application.

One of Derek's major achievements, from which many residents have benefited financially, was getting Ewell West station rezoned to zone 6. He also helped to arrange the clean up of the surrounding area of the station together with new fencing. He quietly got on with meeting Railway Area Managers and gave them convincing arguments that this was the right thing to do for residents.

His enthusiasm for public transport also came through in his campaign to pressure Surrey County Council to transport waste by rail to reduce the amount of heavy lorries on the borough's streets.

Derek's passion for the local environment came through in his role as a founder member of the Friends of the Hogsmill; he was actively involved in clearing litter from the river and its banks. As well as practical work he went on to produce two very highly regarded videos of the Hogsmill River. These were often used in exhibitions in Bourne Hall Museum and indeed The Royal of Kingston used them as part of their Hogsmill project.

His enthusiasm was recognised when he became Vice Chairman of the Leisure Committee and the Environment Committee.

In his second term Derek concentrated on continuing improvements to our street scene, including grass verge maintenance and tree planting. He also wished to see the standardisation of bus fares in the borough.

West Ewell & Ruxley Residents Association is like a family. Derek was one of that family. He leaves behind his wife and children, parents, siblings and in laws, all of whom are in our thoughts in the difficult months ahead.

His death leaves a vacancy for a councillor to represent the residents of Ruxley ward. Derek will be a hard act to follow. We leave the entries to his "blog" live on the website as a tribute to all the work he did to improve the lives of local residents.

Derek's Weblog