Councillors and staff at Vale of White Horse District Council were today saddened to learn that Alderman and former Council Leader Terry Cox passed away yesterday. Terry Cox was elected as a Vale of White Horse District Councillor in 1979 as one of three councillors representing the Grove ward. In later years he represented the Island Villages ward and then the Hanneys ward. Terry’s early roles included being a member the Personnel Committee and the Planning Committee. He quickly became a popular and well-respected member of the council, and at the start of his second term in 1983, became a member of the Policy and Resources Committee and later, Chairman of the Planning Committee. By 1989 he became Leader of the Council, a position he held until 1995 when the council changed political control. He then became Leader of the Opposition, until 2001 when he stepped down to allow Councillor Melinda Tilley to take up the mantle, with Terry supporting her in the deputy role. He stood down from the council at the last district elections in 2011. During his years as councillor, he became hugely experienced in the complex workings of the council and local government in general, and had a vast photographic memory of events. He was the council's leading member in many matters, including the issue or Thames Water’s proposal to build a reservoir in the district. It was no surprise that in 2011, after he stood down from the council, that his fellow councillors unanimously voted to make Terry an Honorary Alderman of the council in recognition of the eminent services he rendered to the council. Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “Terry was a very popular member of council who really led by example in representing the local community and wider district. His work as a councillor for more than 33 years earned him the utmost respect from everyone on both sides of the political divide. He always made the time to talk to members of the public, staff and councillors and will be sorely missed as a colleague and friend.”