Horticultural Standards

Grounds Maintenance Service

Caring for the environment is one of the Council's core values.

The Council seeks to

• Meet social and economic needs in a way which sustains the environment.
• Act as a catalyst for the community to improve the local environment.

The grounds maintenance service is important to many people.  It provides the care for their local environment, making sure the grass is cut, litter is collected, shrubs are pruned and weeds removed.

Some of the work is carried out by contractors, where the Council enters into partnership with private companies for the provision of its services, although some elements of the work are undertaken by directly employed Council staff.

People ask what the contractors/grounds staff are expected to do.  They also ask what they can do if it is not being done properly.  This guide sets out to answer these questions.

Who does what?

The Council

The Council is responsible for managing and maintaining all land and open spaces in Torbay, which are owned by the Council.  This does not include land managed by the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust or Riviera Housing Trust.

Staff in Cultural Services manage the contracts for all Council owned open space in Torbay.  This includes parks, recreation grounds and roadside verges.  They also work closely with other colleagues in the Council, as well as staff in the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust and Riviera Housing Trust.

Contractors

• Carry out the work as set out in the contract
• Monitor their own work reporting regularly to Operations Services.

The Public

• The public obviously benefit when the work is done well and suffer when it is done poorly or late.
• Local people may notice problems before any Council staff do.  Reports can be very helpful.
• Give valuable feedback on how well the work is progressing.

When should I report a problem?

• If you think the work has been done poorly or is late, and you think the contractors/grounds staff should visit the site to put this right.

When should I be tolerant?

• If the work is only a little late or is nearly as good as it should be.
• When the weather is so bad that it stops or delays work.
• In the peak season-May and June when grass growth is rapid and many other jobs need to be done at the same time.

Why should I be tolerant?

• Calling the contractors/grounds staff back unnecessarily, only delays work on other sites and disrupts work programmes, causing more problems.
• Torbay is a diverse area with hundreds of urban and rural sites.  A difficult task to get them all right all of the time.

When should I complain?

A complaint is more serious than a report of a problem and should receive a quick response.

Examples of complaints include:

• Reports being ignored
• Very poor standards over a period of time
• Very late work
• Incidents of vandalism
• Anything dangerous (such as broken glass not collected)
• Incidents of Anti-Social behaviour by members of the public
• Rude or offensive behaviour by the contractor or Council employees

When making a complaint

Please provide as much detail as possible on the nature and location of the problem so the matter can be addressed as quickly as possible.

How do the contracts work?

It is complicated.  Please also see the section 'What is expected of the contractors/grounds staff'.  They have to provide all staff and machinery and materials to do the job.  They have to supervise the staff and programme all the work, reporting to Operational Services.  Regular meetings are held with the contractors to discuss problems and plan the best use of limited resources.

Much better standards could be achieved but at a cost which would have to be paid by local people through their taxes, so the amount spent is kept as low as reasonably possible.

What is expected of the contractor/grounds staff?

Frequencies

The contractors/grounds staff do not have to work to set frequencies for most types of work.  Much of the work is dependent on the weather and different site conditions.  It does not make sense to say the grass must be cut every two weeks if that is not enough in the spring and too much in a dry summer.  Also some sites drain more than others, giving different grass growth especially in drier periods.

Standards

The standards that should generally be met are set out for the contractor.  The contractors/grounds staff must choose the best methods to achieve these standards and programme their work.  The contractors/grounds staff are expected to use common sense.  There may be occasions when work may not be carried out because the standard is only slightly out and does not justify the cost (or the delay to other work).

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Last updated : 02.12.2008, 12:29:19