Grounds Maintenance Service Level Agreements

highway verges, allotment fairways, parks and open spaces are scheduled to be cut up to 10 times per annum, during the growing season
grass cuttings are not collected, arisings are deposited back onto the grass sward
intervals between scheduled cuts can be up to 35 days, so grass can get long and look untidy before it is due to be cut. This is especially notable during the grass flowering season as flower spikes can grow considerably faster than the leaves of the grass

within the borough, there are over 300,000 square meters of wildflower areas
these areas are cut and cleared once a year in the autumn – cut vegetation is collected and removed from site
on larger sites, such as Foots Cray Meadows, East Wickham Open Space, Lesnes Abbey and Hall Place to increase habitat diversity, a third of the total area are cut on a three-year cyclical rotation
on smaller sites, such as the banks to watercourses and rivers, the whole areas are cut and cleared annually
where possible the waste is recycled

council managed Closed Churchyards are cut up to 9 times annually within the borough
some Closed Churchyards have other features that receive scheduled maintenance

operational cemeteries grass cutting is done up to 10 times annually with around 35 days between cuts. The grass cut is flown arisings left between gravestones.
ornamental features are also maintained throughout the growing season
hard surface paths are swept throughout the year

shub beds are scheduled to receive a maintenance visit 5 times per annum, during the growing season
during the visit weeds are either treated or removed, as is any detritus, litter and arisings
pruning is not a scheduled item and is treated reactively

general hedges are cut twice a year, once in the winter and early summer cut
a procedure is in place for the summer cut, where there is an inspection for nesting birds
when hedges are cut, the bases of hedges are also maintained
when possible, the green waste is recycled

there are varying levels of litter collection frequency throughout the parks and open spaces in the borough. This is based upon historic footfall
high footfall areas can be scheduled to be litter-picked daily, such as the main entrance to Danson Park, down to low footfall areas which are scheduled to be litter-picked every 28 days, such as woodland paths
similarly with litterbins – high use bins are emptied daily and low use are once a week. There are 428 parks litterbins provided across the borough, which have a capacity of 140 litres
dog waste bins are scheduled to be emptied twice a week, all year round. There are 278 dog waste bins provided across the borough, which have a capacity of 50 litres.
path sweeping is scheduled to be undertaken every 43 days

Response standards