Long-serving Isle of Wight Council officer, Nigel Leppard, retired last month, after working for the authority for 36 years.
The 59-year-old from Freshwater, joined the council is 1982, when he was 24. He began working as a mobile school groundsmen in the West Wight.
Worked his way up
After a short break working for the Isle of Wight College, Nigel worked his way up to managing the school grounds across the Island for 25 years, specialising in design and maintenance.
Nigel said:
“If a new school was built, I would design the landscape, and the school playing fields. I would also work on little projects with the schools, like if they wanted a new outdoor area.”
Most enjoyed designing
Nigel said it was the design work that he enjoyed most:
“I had a good run — it was really interesting stuff.
“It was nice getting out and about across the Island, and I always liked seeing the seasons change.”
He also worked during the Isle of Wight Festival, and was one of the people responsible for restoring Seaclose Park to its pre-festival state:
“It was quite a challenge putting it all back.”
Managing council’s parks section
After working his way up through the ranks, Mr Leppard eventually moved to managing the council’s parks section in 2013.
He said:
“One of the biggest changes I saw was when we went from being in-house, to contracting out services.”
Towards the end of his time at the council, Mr Leppard worked managing the contracts for the parks team.
Although he said he has not particular plans for his retirement, Mr Leppard said he plans to remain on the Isle of Wight.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
