Horiticultural standards
The Parks and Amenities section are responsible for the general operational management and day-to-day maintenance of the various Borough's parks and open spaces distributed across the area.
Hertsmere Borough Council has a dedicated team of staff who pride themselves in delivering a valuable service. Our contractor, John O'Conner, has mobile gardening teams who regularly visit sites to ensure local parks are kept clean and beautiful, and that the public open spaces are kept trim and tidy. Contact the Parks team here.
Outlined below is a summary of the core service standards included within the specification for the grounds maintenance services. The majority of the service is specified on a performance standard rather than a frequency standard, however for the purpose of this report the indicative frequency standards are shown:
Item | Frequency | Timing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grass Cutting | |||
| General Amenity Grass | 10 – 14 cuts per annum Cuttings dispersed | March to October | Open spaces, amenity greens, etc. |
| Highway Verge Grass | 10 – 14 cuts per annum Cuttings dispersed | March to October | Under Agency Agreement |
| Parks Grass | 15 – 20 cuts per annum Cuttings dispersed | March to October | In designated parks |
| Box Mow Area | 20 cuts per annum Cuttings removed | March to October | Limited areas of civic pride, play areas, Allum Lane Cemetery |
| Meadow Grass | 1 – 2 cuts per annum Cuttings removed | Dependent on species in sward but usually June / September | To develop species diversity and conservation of flora and fauna |
| Hedges | |||
| Cutting sides and tops of hedges | 2 times per annum | July / October | |
| Hedge bases – weed control | As required to keep free of weed | As required | |
| Rose and Shrub Bed Maintenance | |||
| Weed Control | As required to keep 95% weed free – approx. monthly | March to October | |
| Bed Maintenance | Mulch with bark chippings annually or if unmulched forked over annually | January / February | |
| Pruning | Shrubs as required by species Roses 2 prunings per annum | November October / March | In addition removal of suckers and dead heading as required |
| Flower Beds (Annual Bedding) | |||
| Planting | 2 times per annum | June / October | At selected Civic sites – war memorials ,etc |
| Weed Control / Maintenance Visits | As required to keep 95% weed free - (approx. fortnightly) | March to October | |
| Watering | As required | Peak summer period | |
| Football Pitch Maintenance | |||
| Marking out | Weekly | September through to end of April / early May | |
| Maintenance | As required in agreement with Supervising Officer | During Season | Spiking, harrowing, fertiliser, rolling . |
| Match Preparation | Weekly and additional mid week games as required | September through to end of April / early May | Includes opening of pavilions, removing debris glass from pitches, forking goalmouths and if necessary cancelling games. Erection of goal posts and nets |
| Pitch Renovation | 1 per annum | End of Season May / June | Dependant on needs of each site |
| Parks Cleansing | |||
| Litter picking / bin emptying/ dog waste bins / leaf clearance includes opening of specified “locked” parks | Frequencies dependant on “zone” / season and events, etc. Some daily, some bi-weekly, some weekly and some monthly | Higher standards during summer period to winter period to reflect usage | To comply with Environmental Protection Act 1990 |
| Allum Lane Cemetery | |||
| General grounds maintenance | As above | As above | General Maintenance as per grounds maintenance standards above. |
| Grave digging and maintenance of graves | As required | All year | To meet Hertsmere's obligations as a Burial Authority |