It is with great sadness that we announce that Cllr Tashi Bhutia passed away on Tuesday, 6 July.

Following the sad news, the Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, and Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Hicks, have paid tribute to Cllr Bhutia.

A fantastic, dedicated councillor

Cllr Jarrett said: “Tashi was a fantastic, dedicated local councillor who was passionate about his local community. Tashi will be greatly missed by all of his colleagues at Medway Council and by the residents he represented. I would like to express my condolences to his wife, family and friends at this difficult time.”

He will be a great loss to the council

Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Hicks, said: “We are all greatly saddened to hear of the death of Cllr Tashi Bhutia. He will be a great loss to the Council and the community as a whole, as we all held Tashi in high regard. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his wife, family and friends.”

Cllr Bhutia served on Medway Council from 2009-2011 for Luton and Wayfield ward and then again for Princes Park from 2015 and was re-elected in 2019.  

Cllr Bhutia had a keen interest in regeneration and served as a member of the Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee throughout his time as a councillor. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Committee from 2015. He served on the Health and Adult Social Care Overview Community between 2010 and 2011, and from 2015, the Licensing and Safety Committee from 2015 and the Planning Committee from 2016.