Quality Standards for Grounds Maintenance

We will endeavour to follow the standards as set out below.

Grassed Areas

• Grass cutting will be carried out safely and professionally.
• We will endeavour to cut the grassed areas every fourteen to sixteen days between April and October dependant on the weather conditions.
• Large items of litter will be litter picked prior to mowing operations.
• Cuttings which fall onto paths will be swept or blown back onto the grassed area.
• Where bulbs are planted into the grassed area this will be cut around until the foliage has died down.  Approximately 6-8 weeks after flowering the foliage will be cut and mulched.

Planted Areas

• Weeds in rose and shrub beds will be controlled by hand-weeding, mulching and chemical control.  Any litter will be removed at the time of visit.
• Rose bushes will be pruned during the autumn and spring.
• Dead flower heads and suckers will be removed from the rose bushes during the summer.
• Roses and shrub beds will be visited monthly.

Hedges

• All amenity hedges will be cut once a year in June / July / August after the nesting season.

Trees

• Requests for inspection of council owned trees.
• Response to Emergency Call Out visit within 1 hour of storm damage/accident damage etc to Council trees.
• Response to request for a site visit to discuss arboricultural issues 14 days.

Play Areas

• Inspect, litter cleanse, carry out maintenance at The Quarry daily
• Other locations - minimum inspections of once per week for litter, cleanse, health and safety and maintenance.
• Annually independant inspection by approved body.
• Response to emergency call outs within 1 hour - 7 days a week - EMERGENCY OUT OF HOURS TELEPHONE NUMBER 01743 281500