Miles Punter retires after 43 years of service

06 October 2025

Director of Environment and Housing Miles Punter is retiring this week after 43 years of dedicated service.

Every great journey has a humble beginning, and Miles Punter’s journey is no exception. 

Miles started as an apprentice in September 1982, studying Motor Vehicle Craft Studies in Barry Further Education College. But this wasn’t the path Miles had originally envisioned for himself: “I actually wanted to be a police officer, that was my first aspiration. My brother was a police officer, that's what I wanted to do.

“I was in the Cadets and I went down to Bridgend one afternoon and they did a mock medical with me and I failed because I'm colour-blind. So unfortunately, that wasn't the career for me.

“I was really interested in motorbikes and scooters at the time, and I think my father was fed up of me kicking around the house.

“I said that I wanted to go back to school and do my A-levels, and my father told me to go to the council yard on Court Road and ask for a guy called Roy Dutton as he had some work for me. So this is what I did.

“I turned up at the council yard and there were hundreds of boys there. There were entrance exams for various disciplines like plumbing, electrical work - and I thought I didn't want to do any of that - the only thing I was remotely interested in was fixing motorbikes, so I joined the queue for the motor vehicle apprenticeship examinations.

“I sat down, did a test, bent a piece of wire into a shape, answered some quiz questions, then when I went home I had a phone call that I'd been chosen as an apprentice for the council.”

Despite his initial reservations, it wasn’t long before Miles settled into what would be the start of a long career with the Council: “I went to meet Roy to do my induction, and I absolutely loved it, I loved it from the minute I opened the door.

“My great discipline is fixing things, so I was in my element. It's something that came so natural to me.

“Ever since I was a child, I've been fixing things. I used to infuriate my family by taking radios apart, taking washing machines apart at 14 years of age.

“Often they weren't broken. I would just take them apart just to see how they worked and sometimes I could put them back together again.

He added: “I had a motorbike when I started work on a council. It was always in bits, it was always breaking down. So learning how to fix it properly was a good opportunity for me.

“I wasn't the most reliable apprentice they've ever had though. We got paid weekly on a Thursday back then and so I missed most Fridays because I had been out with the boys and I was always getting dragged into the office.”

He completed his apprenticeship in September 1986 and started as Motor Vehicle Fitter on £2.76 per hour – and you could even choose to be paid by Cheque!

In August 1989, Miles was promoted to the role of Inspector within the Engineering and Building Services Section.

Continuing his professional development, he completed his HNC in Transport Management in 1994 and was subsequently awarded membership of the Chartered Institute of Transport.

By 1995, Miles was appointed Fleet Manager and as part of a restructure in 1997, he was promoted to the position of Grounds and Fleet Manager.

In 1999, he took on additional duties overseeing the Building and Vehicle Maintenance section within the Direct Service Organisation (DSO).

In April 2000, Miles became Head of Service (Building) as well as becoming Head of Visible Services in October 2002, and then in June 2012 he became Director of Visible Services and Housing.

Finally, in 2015, Miles was appointed to the post of Director of Environment and Housing.

As he addressed a meeting of Full Council for the final time before embarking on his retirement, Miles shared this reflection: “I must say, it’s not very often you start in an organisation as a 17-year-old, coming from Gibbonsdown, but if you work hard and follow your studies, you can reach the top - as I believe I have and I’m extremely proud to have been in the position I’m in.

“For 43 years, I have worked for many administrations, and we’ve had some colourful situation - let’s just say that, but they have all been character-forming. I’ve had opportunities over the years to work for other councils, but there’s a big reason why I haven’t as this is by far the best council in Wales, if not the UK, and it remains so.”

As Miles retires after 43 years of service, we celebrate his legacy and look forward to seeing how he continues to make a difference. Thank you Miles, and here’s to a happy retirement!