Grounds maintenance

We’re responsible for maintaining the common and public areas  that we own.  We use external contractors to carry out this work. Our main contractors are:

Greenslades Grounds Maintenance Covering West Somerset , Wiveliscombe and  Bampton.
Somergreen Maintenance Covering Taunton and Bridgwater.

We also use specialist tree surgeons where required.

These contracts are administered by building surveyor, Rupert Harrison, tel: 01984 635033 

E-mail: rupert.harrison@magna.org.uk

Scope of the service

The grounds maintenance contract  provides a basic level of maintenance for all common areas belonging to us.  It’s paid for by service charge contributions.

This doesn’t include maintenance of tenants’ gardens, or the boundaries and trees within them, which residents are required to maintain under their own tenancy agreement. 

The contract covers the following:

Grass cutting

Every 10 working days, weather permitting, throughout the growing season, March to October.  Includes: litter-picking, removal of grass, weed control, edging.

Strimming

Four cuts per year in the growing season.    Includes litter-picking and weed control. 

Shrub and rose beds 

One standard prune per year during April and May for spring flowering shrubs, and October and November for summer flowering shrubs.  Includes: Litter-picking, pruning and training, weed control and edging.

Communal hard areas (herbicidal spraying)

Twice a year during March and April, July and  August.

Hedges

One or two standard prunes per year, depending on type, throughout the year. 

These maintenance periods are flexible to allow for seasonal fluctuations, such as unexpected rapid growth, which can occur during particularly wet summers.

Unusual flowering and bird-nesting periods can also affect the cutting period.

Other works


Un-planned or one-off items, such as tree maintenance and environmental improvements, are dealt with outside the grounds maintenance contract as and when needed.

Satisfaction


We monitor tenant satisfaction with grounds maintenance at all our sheltered sites, and are introducing satisfaction surveys for our other areas.   The information we receive helps us to improve the service we offer out tenants.

Queries


We welcome queries or comments about our grounds maintenance service.