It is with sadness that I learned of the death of Sandy Bruce-Lockhart. Having worked with Sandy whilst he was Leader of Kent County Council I am aware of the immense contribution that he made to local government not only in Kent, but also throughout the country when he became the Chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA). For me this is a personal loss for whilst we had our differences over the proposals to create the new Medway Unitary Authority, once it became a reality he was very supportive with sound advice whilst we were getting established. Kent and Medway have lost a true champion and our thoughts are with his family at this time. Rodney Chambers Leader, Medway Council