A FORMER chairman of Cherwell District Council has died.

John Harper, 71, of Manor Road, Adderbury, was a Cherwell district councillor between 2000 and 2008, and was chairman of the council from 2006-07.

Mr Harper, a retired chartered surveyor, was chairman of Adderbury and Milton Conservative branch.

Former colleagues said it was thanks to his tenacity that Adderbury’s library was saved from closure in 1997.

Working with Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, he set up Friends of Adderbury Library, registered it as a charity and raised £70,000 to pay to move the library to a new home and fund its running costs. Mr Harper was chairman until he stood down last year.

Mr Mitchell, who first met Mr Harper in 1984, said: “It was a privilege to work with John because he was a great local community activist and latterly a hard-working local parish and district councillor.

“At heart, John was a great social animal. He enjoyed good food, good wine and, above all, good company, and was hugely generous with his home, his time, his sociability and his interest in people.”

Mr Harper kept a family tradition when he became a chartered surveyor, as his father and brothers all worked in the profession.

He worked for a number of property based firms, finishing as partner with Chestertons, where he ran its Banbury office.

Mr Harper was married twice and had four children, Mark and Jacinta with his first wife, and Georgina and James with second wife Nini.

Mr Harper, who lived in Adderbury for 30 years, had a heart attack about 10 years ago while playing tennis.

Luckily for him, his partner was a GP and got him to hospital straight away, which saved his life.

Recently he had been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. However he died following another heart attack.