Husband and wife Ribble Valley council workers hang up their hi-vis after nearly 70 years’ service
Two husband and wife council workers are hanging up their hi-vis after clocking up nearly 70 years’ local government service between them.
Ribble Valley Borough Council waste management officer Linda Boyer and amenity cleansing and grounds maintenance manager Alan Boyer are calling it a day after 34 and 28 years of ‘exemplary public service’ respectively.
During their employment, Linda has overseen the biggest increase in recycling at a district authority in Lancashire, while Alan’s team has collected over 2,000 tonnes of litter from the borough’s streets and lanes, about 300 times the weight of an elephant.
Linda and Alan met after being called out to a notorious fly-tip at Four Lane Ends in Clitheroe.
“It might not sound romantic, but we locked eyes over a three-tonne pile of asbestos and hit it off straight away. Alan is extremely funny and soon had me laughing out loud. We discovered that we had loads in common and married in 2013.”
Linda started working for Ribble Valley Borough Council in 1991 as an environmental health technician, before being promoted to waste management officer in 2017.
Under her management, Ribble Valley saw the biggest increase in recycling in Lancashire – a 24% boost in the collection of green waste and 22 per cent in recyclables – as well as being the only borough in the county to see a reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill.
And to this day the council’s recycling service receives high customer satisfaction rates, with 83% of residents saying they were satisfied with waste collection and 70% with doorstep recycling in the Ribble Valley People’s Survey 2023.
Linda said: “Things have changed a lot since I started working at the council. In terms of waste management alone, there is far more joint working and greater accountability for recycling and refuse collection.
“People also recycle a lot more. Rather than burning paper and cardboard on open fires, they rightly expect their recyclable waste to be collected and disposed of safely.”
Linda has also been the council’s UNISON representative for 24 years, during which time she has worked with the council’s corporate management team to improve pay and conditions, introduce new work policies and support colleagues with a wide range of issues. She has worked in a variety of UNISON roles at regional level and is retiring as the organisation’s North West president.
Alan joined Ribble Valley Borough Council in 1997 from waste management company Biffa as amenity cleansing supervisor, before being promoted to amenity cleansing and grounds maintenance manager in 2003.
He said: “When I started in this job, there was litter everywhere, but people are more conscious of the environment now and generally tidier, and most take their litter home. Although fly-tipping remains a serious problem and we have had to deal with some terrible tips over the years, everything from aggregate to asbestos, seeing how much tidier the streets now look never fails to give me a sense of pride and achievement.”
Ribble Valley Borough Council chief executive Marshal Scott said: “Linda and Alan have nearly 70 years’ local government service between them and officers with this level of knowledge, experience and dedication, are becoming increasingly rare. They know their jobs inside out and back to front and have played an important role in maintaining a level of customer satisfaction in Ribble Valley that is the envy of neighbouring authorities.
“I, fellow directors and council colleagues wish them the very best in their retirement.”
Rosie Elms, chairman of Ribble Valley Borough Council’s personnel committee, said: “Linda and Alan are much-valued members of our community services team and on behalf of councillors I would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment. They are a fantastic example of the care and effort that council employees put into making Ribble Valley a great place in which to live, work and visit, and I wish them a long and happy retirement.”
James Rupa, Unison’s lead officer for local government, said: “When Linda said she was retiring I told her she wasn’t allowed! She has more than done her bit for UNISON and its members, and her trade union activism has seen her elected to many senior roles beyond the Ribble Valley branch, including over 10 years as the chairperson of the North West Local Government Service Group and more recently president of UNISON North West.
“Linda is hardworking, dedicated and caring, which has always been evident in her UNISON work, and colleagues across the North West send Linda and Alan best wishes for their well-earned retirement.”
Linda added: “Alan and I have worked with some fantastic council colleagues over the years, who we will miss and keep in touch with, but it is time to stop working and start living, and we can’t wait to start this next chapter of our lives together.”
Linda and Alan plan to walk, get fit, travel and undertake some voluntary work during their retirement.