A long-serving employee at Calderdale Council has retired after over 18 years of doing his bit to keep Halifax town centre clean and attractive.
During his time in his street cleansing role, Pat Keane, 65 from Halifax, has become a familiar face in the town centre, working in all weathers to keep the area litter free.
Pat began his working life with Calderdale Council in 1997 and often went above and beyond his role of removing litter from the streets and emptying bins. A friendly and chatty character, Pat has become good friends with thousands of local people. He always went the extra mile to help – from giving directions to providing advice on accessing council services.
Pat and the rest of the Council’s Safer, Cleaner, Greener team’s role to keep Halifax town centre safe and attractive plays a big part in making it such an impressive place to live, work and visit. Over the years, the team has helped to win numerous awards for the town, including Yorkshire in Bloom (Halifax has won the large town category 10 times) and retaining the Purple Flag – the standard of excellence in creating a safe and enjoyable night out.
Pat says:
“I have really enjoyed my role with the Council. The best bit was all the lovely people I met in Halifax town centre. I’ve made lots of great friends and sometimes I was even like an agony uncle! The only thing I didn’t like was the weather, but I’ll really miss going to work. I’m now planning a cruise around Malaysia and Thailand, then I’m going to get a dog and go for walks around Calderdale. And my wife already has a list of jobs to keep me busy!”
Cllr Steve Sweeney, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said:
“I want to say a big thank you to Pat for his exceptional service to the Council and our local community for nearly two decades. I know he was a very popular part of the team and an ambassador for the Council. We all wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement.
“Our Safer, Cleaner, Greener team does a fantastic job keeping our towns and villages up to standard, continuing to work tirelessly to make Calderdale a great place to live, work and visit.”
The Council’s Safer, Cleaner Greener team works around the clock to:
- Sweep roads and footpaths, both manually and mechanically
- Empty over 900 litter bins and pick up litter on a daily basis
- Remove graffiti and flyposting
- Remove fly-tipping
- Pick up leaves from streets and other areas
- Control weed growth
To find out more and to request services online, visit Clean streets.