Communal grounds maintenance

Our Grounds Maintenance teams provide grass cutting, hedge cutting and shrub pruning services which change throughout the year. Our grass cutting service operates during the spring and summer months and stops for the autumn and winter. During the winter months our Grounds Maintenance teams will spend time within areas cutting back shrub beds and other essential maintenance in order to improve their appearance.

Service standards

Our service standards are:

Communal grassed areas

• Will be cut regularly during the growing season (approximately April - October).
• we will aim to cut the grass every 2-3 weeks - up to 12-cuts per year
• Grass clippings will be cleared off all hardstanding areas but we don't collect grass clippings, as the clippings, when left in place, provide a ready source of fertiliser and helps grow healthier grass.
• Where appropriate we will also leave areas to grow to reduce cutting and increase biodiversity within the estate.

Shrubs

• Shrubs will receive one cut back annually during winter months.
• Every 3-years shrub beds will be cut back harshly for rejuvenation.
• Waste will be removed.

Hedges

• Hedges will have one harsh cut per year.
• Hedges will be cut between October and February, outside of bird nesting season in line with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 recommendations.
• Waste will be removed.

Herbaceous planted beds

• Annual tidy up to include weed removal and cut back of plant material.

Weedkilling

• Weed kill of grass perimeters annually at start of growing season.
• Weed kill applied to wall bottoms and fences annually at start of growing season.

Trees and woodland areas

• Trees will be managed and works completed in accordance with adopted national standards and the Council Owned Trees and Woodlands Policy & Standards.

Activities not included

Activities not included within the Communal Grounds Maintenance Service.

• Individual house garden maintenance
• Private gardens covered by tenancy agreements
• Communal spaces that have been enclosed by 3rd parties e.g., fences put up by individual residents
• Planted beds that have been planted by residents/tenants
• Footpaths, including alley ways
• Parking areas
• Bin storage areas
• Drying areas
• Fly-tipping clearance
• Low level nuisance e.g., seasonal debris drop off - leaf fall, sap, blossom, fruit, grass clippings
• The removal of self-set trees/saplings

Please note that due to adverse weather conditions, from time to time, the services we carry out maybe limited e.g. grass cutting in periods of heavy or persistent rain or continued dry weather as this may risk damaging grass. If this is the case then we will focus on other tasks such as pruning.

Ensuring standards are met

We will ensure these standards are met through:

• An annual Grounds Maintenance customer satisfaction survey.
• Customer feedback including complaints
• Feedback from tenant and resident association meetings and neighbourhood forums, and events.
• Estate inspections
• Tracking the information we collect in the Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) survey for the question: Satisfaction that your landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained.