SURVEYOR Andrew Backhouse is retiring after 42 years' service to the Huddersfield and Halifax property market.
Mr Backhouse, of Luddenden Foot, Halifax, is stepping down as a director of commercial property agency Eddisons.
He was presented with a painting from fellow directors at a reception at the George Hotel in Huddersfield.
The presentation was attended by many of the firm's staff, clients and ex-colleagues.
Mr Backhouse was educated at Ashville College in Harrogate and joined David Waterhouse & Nephews in Bradford in 1963 as an articled clerk.
He moved to Huddersfield in 1967 after the firm's merger with Eddison Taylor & Booth. The following year he qualified as a chartered surveyor and in 1969 opened the firm's Halifax office, which he ran for 20 years.
Mr Backhouse later transferred to the Huddersfield office at New North Road as a director in charge of industrial and commercial property agency work.
A former player with Halifax Rugby Union FC, he also played league cricket and squash and now plays snooker and crown green bowls.
He is a past president of Halifax Rotary Club and Calderdale Auctioneers and Estate Agents Association.
He will continue his links with Eddisons as a consultant.
He is married to Angela. The couple have two married sons and a grandchild.
