TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Aberystwyth town and county councillor who was one of the last residents of the former Bodlondeb care home.

Hywel Jones, a former long-standing member of the Aberystwyth Silver Band, passed away aged 86 on Monday, 5 March.

Mr Jones had represented Aberystwyth over a number of years on both Aberystwyth Town Council and Ceredigion County Council and was well known in the town for his forthright views and commitment to the town.

Following his retirement as a councillor, Mr Jones had fought a lengthy battle to protect and reopen Aberystwyth’s Drill Hall and, despite being a resident at Bodlondeb, Mr Jones had joined the fight to save the home, attending a range of public meetings about the home’s future before its eventual closure.

Former town and county councillor Goronwy Edwards paid tribute to his fellow councillor who he said was a “first class councillor”.

He said: “He used to sit by me and one thing with Hywel was if he said anything, he’d stick with it.

“Some councillors say something one minute, then change their mind to agree with the chairman and then go out grumbling but Hywel didn’t do that.

“He was a very good councillor and represented the ward well. He’d always speak up. I got on well with him.

“We used to talk about the council and about what was best for Aberystwyth. He’d always speak his mind and I admired him for that.”

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