JOHN Shepley has an unusual legacy from his working life – and it’s all around him.

He was Bolton’s Director of Leisure until his retirement in 2002 and before that deputy. But his tenure in this top job included the period in the 1980s and ‘90s when the landscape of the borough changed dramatically.

In particular, Moses Gate Country Park emerged from waste-tips that had previously scarred the land, to transform this ugly industrial blot into beautiful rural acres that have become an enduring outdoor attraction.

His choice of career was always a logical one for the boy brought up in Romiley on the Peak District side of Manchester and who developed a love of the outdoors from an early age.

“My dad would take me up Kinder Scout regularly and we had our holidays in Scotland, always involving plenty of walking,” he recalled.

Inspired by a friend who worked for the Forestry Commission in Grizedale Forest in the heart of the Lake District and keen on gardening, he applied to work for them but found himself instead in Stratford on Avon.

Slightly disillusioned, he then applied for a job with Manchester’s parks’ department and worked “sweeping up and in charge of deckchair hire” in Piccadilly Gardens.

He progressed through jobs at Manchester City Council and then Lancashire County Council at Preston before arriving, courtesy of local government reorganisation, in Bolton in 1974. He had by then met his wife to be, Christine, who lived in the town.

“I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Bolton at first,” he stated. “I loved the job and I came to love Bolton.”

Promotion here led him to becoming Principle Landscape Officer at a time when local authorities were trying to reclaim wasteland for parkland. He worked with other colleagues in various departments, and other local authorities, on the Moses Gate scheme “but I’m quite impatient by nature and wanted everything to happen quickly,” he recalled.

The literally organic process of turning the 750 acre site of a historic former paper mill into a country park was naturally a slow one. The results in time, though, were stunning. “It was amazing to see the transformation – I still love it,” added John.

He became Deputy and then Director of Leisure, although the job had other titles before then, being responsible for local parks and even the Crematorium.

One of the biggest changes there was arranging for weekend burials for the local Muslim community – a huge shift in practice and one demanding all John’s considerable skills of persuasion.

Although they may not seem major projects in today’s sophisticated leisure industry, the opening of Butterfly World in Queens Park and Pet’s Corner in Moss Bank Park were major additions to the town’s life, all achieved with John at the helm.

Not all projects were as successful; The Water Place was also built in John’s time. “With hindsight, perhaps it wasn’t the best decision for the Council to take but I suppose lots of local councils had opened pools and so we had to have one,” stated John, now in his early 70s.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other, rather more positive legacies for John to look back on. “When I drive along the Mancunian Way, I look at the big banks of horse chestnut trees and feel proud that I was responsible for planting them 50 years ago,” he said.

Closer to home, John is still keen on the outdoors. He runs every day or goes to the USN Bolton Arena gym and he and his wife love breaks away in the Lake District and further afield.

He is a Chair of Governors at Lever Edge Primary Academy and vice-chair at Sharples Science College as well as being chairman of Bolton YMCA and on the board of All Souls Church community centre.

John is also a judge for the North West in Bloom competition run by the Royal Horticultural Society which takes him around the region. “It’s wonderful to see how communities have created beautiful areas,” he said. “People love growing things, and that helps grow communities, too.”

In Bolton, the local council used to grow their own plants at Moss Bank Park. “We had 300 gardeners then,” he said. “Times change but the council is definitely putting more investment into local parks these days.”

And do Bolton people still appreciate their wealth of parks? “Oh yes, I think so,” he stated. “I often pass Moss Bank Park at the weekends and the car park is always full with plenty of people enjoying the park. That’s still good to see.”