Rural guardians across Gloucestershire have paid heartfelt tribute to the loss of devoted campaigner Richard Lloyd MBE, the Honorary Vice-Chair of Gloucestershire's Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE).

In a statement, the branch said the news of Richard's death on October 4 came with "great sorrow" and praised Richard's "enormous expertise in countryside matters, prodigious energy and sustained commitment to protecting and enhancing the countryside."

CPRE Gloucestershire and nationally had lost one of its most hard-working and committed members, the branch added.

Born in Gloucester and a pupil of the Crypt School, Richard first joined the campaigning group in the 1970s and offered support alongside the demands of raising a young family, while stepping up to a greater level of involvement after he retired in 2000 from a successful career in the Countryside Commission.

The CPRE said: "Richard was able to devote his time to the CPRE cause with gusto: 'devotion' is the correct term; and his 'time' seemed inexhaustible."

Having been a judge for the Bledisloe Cup in the 1990s, he was persuaded on retirement by then Chairman Sir John Adye to become CPRE Gloucestershire Vice-Chairman.

The branch added: "This was a post that Richard made his own; he involved himself in every aspect of our work with authority and humour. The current Policy Sub-Committee was Richard's: he created a broad group - a variety of opinions mattered - and enabled it to discuss all manner of topics relating to planning and environmental policy."

Nationally, Richard became a member of the CPRE Policy Committee for many years, and was a keen ambassador for Gloucestershire.

The CPRE's Awards Scheme, taking over from the Bledisloe Cup for the Best Kept Village, was also another of his successes - and the one closest to his heart. Richard designed a new Scheme that recognised the excellence of many projects designed to improve the county's environment and he valued the annual autumn Awards Ceremony as a highlight of the CPRE year, running the scheme, the branch said, until a few weeks before his illness and death.

After university, which included attaining a First and two London M.Phils, Richard spent his whole career working for the environment, his first post as an ecologist with the then Lindsey County Council.

His move to the Countryside Commission, in London in the 1970s, saw him move into policy and research and, soon after the Commission's move to Cheltenham, he was appointed as its Regional Officer for the South West.

The branch added: "A visit to Richard's Bristol Office and his small, lively team was always a cheery experience."

Later, back in the Cheltenham HQ, Richard energetically headed Countryside Commission policy units covering, variously, land-use planning, designated landscapes, and agriculture. From there, it was a seamless move into the CPRE.

In retirement, and by then with an MBE for his environmental work, Richard was appointed by the Secretary of State to the Board of the Cotswolds AONB. Again, he made an impact as one of the more active and supportive Board members.

A family man with rounded interests that included skills in music (he sang as a tenor), the railway network, walking, travel, good beer and astronomy.

The CPRE added: "Richard was a driving force, bringing energy, good humour, knowledge, and sheer hard work. Our thoughts will for long be with his family: Ann, Alison and Geoffrey. We will miss you, Richard, all of us."

Back in 2023, Richard spoke on progress of a citizen science project to look at the night skies over Gloucestershire, run by the CPRE and in conjuction with the British Astronomical Association's Commission for Dark Skies.

As part of a project to measure the varying degrees of light pollution across the country, he said how timely the initiative was, warning how we are in the middle of a climate crisis and that the project raised awareness on how money and energy are being wasted, while depriving people of a natural wonder.

RIchard told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "A truly dark sky and the myriad of stars you can see is an absolutely magical sight."