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EDITOR'S BLOG

ALWAYS A JOY TO VISIT
The renowned Quarry park in Shrewsbury
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

I recently visited this magnificent park where I had the opportunity to meet up with their acting operations manager, Stuart Farmer, who gave me a guided tour their 29-acres.

I recently wrote an article about the value of parks and public open spaces and as a Green Flag judge I visit many parks throughout the year, evaluating their part in providing an important green space for their communities and any outside visitors.

Most local authorities tend to have two to three principle large parks that offer a wide range of facilities and attractions for their visitors.

One such park I have recently visited is the renowned Quarry in Shrewsbury, where I had the opportunity to meet up with their acting operations manager, Stuart Farmer, who gave me a guided tour of the 29-acre park, nestled in the centre of Shrewsbury Town and on the banks of the River Severn.

Stuart as been with the council for over 26 years starting out as a YTS student in 1998. He undertook a modern 3-year apprenticeship and over the years has taken on many management roles, looking after the different horticultural and sports turf / amenity facilities around the town. These include sports pitches, bowling greens, road traffic islands, cemeteries and parks & open spaces.

I have visited the park on several occasions, especially to see their annual Shrewsbury Flower Show and annual spring and summer floral displays in the Dingle.

Stuart Farmer, acting operations manager

The show is one of the country’s premier flower show events, attracting top exhibitors from all over the country. It has a small permanent staff and over 100 volunteers who manage and organise the whole event, from traffic flow, marquee and services contracts, publicity and marketing, public safety, catering, entertainment, engaging specialist judges for hundreds of competitive classes etc. The show attracts around 12,000 people each year and is one of the longest running horticultural shows, having started way back in 1875.

The Quarry has been Shrewsbury's most important site for recreation since the 16th Century. It still provides the perfect place to relax, enjoy walks, picnic, fish along the banks of the River Severn, or just let off steam.

At the heart of the Quarry lies the Dingle, a floral masterpiece cultivated by world-renowned gardener Percy Thrower, who served as parks superintendent for 28 years. It's a delightful sunken garden, landscaped with alpine borders, brilliant bedding plants, shrubbery and charming water features.

Like many Victorian parks the Quarry has a Bandstand, which stands below the entrance to the Quarry in Shrewsbury, was built in 1879 and donated to the park by the Shropshire Horticultural Society. The bandstand was restored to its former glory in 2003 and officially opened for the 2004 Shrewsbury Flower Show.

As for events in the park, Stuart is part of a team that organises its three main events; the Shrewsbury Flower Show, Shrewsbury Food Festival and the Let’s Rock music festival. All are restricted to allow up to 12,000 people at each event. The events generally take place in the summer months of July and August. These bring much needed income for the council.

The park is also renowned for its annual spring and summer bedding displays in the Dingle. The Dingle started out life as a wet quarry providing a poor-quality red sandstone which was the main source of the town’s building stone. The gardenesque design you now see was created by the Shropshire Horticultural Society between 1875 and 1879. The design combines irregular forms, winding paths and an intimate scale. East of the lake, there are richly planted beds cut into manicured grass and a floral clock.

Stuart oversees all horticultural operations in the town and as a team of 55 staff to help maintain the high standards they are proud of. They are one of a few councils that still mow weekly and box off their grass clippings on ornamental lawn and island site areas. The Quarry is cared for by four permanent and one part time member of staff.

The council still own and run their own greenhouses and plant nursery, growing all the bedding and floral plant material for the town. Growing a total of 300,000 plants for use around the town with 30,000 being planted in the Dingles annual bedding displays. This also includes over 500 hanging baskets and floral tubs that are placed around the town.

The flower beds in the Quarry are manured and topped up every couple of years. This helps maintain a good soil structure and provides good nutrient availability for the plants. The Dingle also has an automated watering system to keep the plants and lawns watered during the summer months. Stuart said the Dingle also seems to have its own microclimate, in that it’s a sun trap and protected from high winds. Which in turn helps the plants grow well and prevents damage to the taller bedding plants such as the fuchsias and abutilons.

They also generate income from selling plant materials to other town and parish councils and local businesses.

The Quarry Park generally attracts around 1.4 million visitors a year and this is verified by the fact that they have electronic counters on the entrances of the park and mobile phone data collection.

Last year the council invested in new lighting columns around the park that are powered by solar panels and, overtime, will save the council money. The park also has a children’s play area, toilets and café facilities.

All in all, it’s a wonderfully maintained park that is always a joy to visit. I must commend Stuart and his staff for retaining the high standards of horticulture and have recommended they should put themselves up for Green Flag Award status.

I believe it is vitally important that we retain these high levels of management and delivery of horticulture excellence in our parks and green spaces.

NEWS

GMA APPOINT SIX NEW INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
To their board

In our first WEB ONLY story the Association says the new members bring a wealth of expertise from across the turf, facilities and consultancy sectors.

EQUIP DIGITAL SPECIAL REPORT
Now live

Our exclusive Digital Special Report on the world's largest OPE trade show, packed full of video content, went live on Wednesday last week.

TurfPro and Service Dealer's exclusive Digital Special Report, packed full of video coverage of last month's Equip show that took place in Louisville, Kentucky, went live on Wednesday last week.

The event is the world's largest outdoor power machinery industry exhibition, which owner of our titles Duncan Murray-Clarke attended with the magazine’s diarist of the season for 2024, dealer Jo Balmer of Balmers GM, plus our video expert David Comiskey.

The team gathered and produced tons of content Around The Show, the through-line for much, is following Jo as a first-time UK dealer visitor to this incredible expo. Her experience of the OPEI's event, illustrates just what a trip to Louisville could offer to other UK dealers. The scale of the show is genuinely something to behold. There's so much to see, interact with and enjoy, it's a lot to take in. With Jo's help, we hope the Report offers a flavour of what other UK dealers could expect should they decide to make a trip in subsequent years.

The Digital Special Report also includes an In-Depth section featuring an interview with the President and CEO, of the show's organisers the OPEI, Kris Kiser - plus we serialise a five-part roundtable discussion between Duncan & Jo with Bob Clements of BCI alongside our American columnist Sara Hey, that covers U.S and UK market comparisons; Dealer stocking commitments; Product evolution and routes to market; Rate of industry change; and Equip show developments and battery recycling.

You can also watch Duncan and Jo Roundup their views on this event and hear why they believe a visit is well worth a UK dealer's time.

WATCH ALL OF THE DIGITAL SPECIAL REPORT'S CONTENT HERE.

T H WHITE MACHINERY IMPORTS TEAM-UP WITH GGM
New dealership partnership

In our next WEB ONLY story, partners say the collaboration not only enhances the ability to meet the needs of clients but also extends reach into the North West & Yorkshire.

PRO DEALERSHIP BUILDS ON SUCCESS
Two years of growth

Dealership attributes significant proportion of its achievements to its machinery servicing and parts departments.

The East Anglia and Midlands branch of Reesink UK is celebrating two years of successful operation and attributing a significant proportion of its achievements to its machinery servicing and parts departments.

Trevor Chard, branch manager of Reesink East Anglia, said, “We set out with a firm focus on sales, servicing, training and parts, and what we’ve noticed since opening is just how highly the servicing and parts departments are valued and in particular how popular the ReeAssure maintenance plans are.”

The reason for this is multifaceted says Trevor: “We’ve noticed customers are holding on to their machinery for longer. The cost of living crisis does affect businesses and the post-COVID spend is long behind us, but this is where buying Toro in the first instance pays dividends.

“It’s longevity and reliability is such that with regular maintenance and servicing by our team of experienced and trained technicians they can easily get upwards of a decade of solid work performance in.”

In fact, such is the demand for Reesink’s servicing maintenance support, says Trevor, that the Burwell branch now has three technicians full-time on the road and two at the branch, with recruitment currently active to further bolster the team.

“The growth of the maintenance and support we provide has been organic and demonstrates just how important it is to have a local branch to respond to customer demand and react to specific requirements of our local customers," said Trevor. "That’s what sees us gaining new customers and welcoming returning ones.”

WINNER ANNOUNCED
Of trade show registration giveaway

Winner was presented with a range of tools valued at over £1,700.

Wayne Nash, head of operations at Cardiff City Football Club, has been announced as the winner of the SALTEX 2024 registration giveaway, courtesy of Ryobi.

L-R: Cardiff City FC's Wayne Nash and Ryobi'sThomas Leather

Wayne took home a range of Ryobi tools valued at over £1,700 including a lawnmower, hedge trimmer, chainsaw and more.

Reflecting on his experience, Wayne said, “I get our grounds staff together regularly for a trip, so we got in the minibus and had a fantastic day at SALTEX.

“It was great to visit our suppliers, see new equipment and learn about the latest innovations. I never really win anything, so when I got the phone call, I was blown away. Funny enough, I had actually been thinking about buying a Ryob hedge cutter to replace my hand shears, so this fits quite nicely!”

Thomas Leather, head of marketing at Ryobi said: “SALTEX was a great chance for us to connect with so many people. We had a great time showcasing our latest innovations and seeing the positive reception from visitors. Congratulations to Wayne on his win - we hope these tools will serve as valuable assets to his work.”

JOBS

PRO PRODUCT APPLICATION SPECIALIST (SOUTH)
Husqvarna UK

An exciting position to join a team focused on developing the Husqvarna brand in the professional sector.

An exciting position to join a team focused on developing the Husqvarna brand in the professional sector. Focused on demonstrating and training of products to key customer segments; landscaping, groundcare, sports and treecare. Start date: January 2025.

Responsibilities & Tasks

Field based role working with the professional products within the Husqvarna UK business. A key area for growth with industry leading technology. The candidate will be working with professional end customers in collaboration with the Husqvarna dealer network to develop the product category within landscaping, groundcare, sports and treecare. Covering the South, based ideally South of the M4 corridor.

Relationship building with key professional accounts
Product demonstration to end customer
Lead follow up. Leads generated online and at events
CRM - All leads and activities logged and maintained in CRM (Microsoft Dynamics)
Dealer training; Sales training
Operator training; safe usage, machinery setup, features and benefits
Sales quotation including lease and service packages
Roadshows and events support
Products: chainsaws, blowers, hedge trimmers, brush cutters, pedestrian mowers, ride-on mowers and robotic mowers
Working in an outdoor environment with varying weather conditions
Extensive travel within focus area with the possibility of overnight stays, some international travel may be required for training purposes

Additional Skills/Qualifications Required

Previous experience of machinery sales or technical support in the groundcare, garden machinery or agricultural sector would be advantageous
Self-motivated with the ability to work remotely
Strong communication skills and relationship builder
Willingness to work in a demanding and customer focussed environment
Computer literate - Microsoft Office including CRM
Full UK driving licence, trailer and tachograph training will also be provided

Offer

Competitive package
Training: online, workshop and field based learning
Company vehicle: VW Transporter Auto or Ford Transit Custom Auto (business and personal use)
Husqvarna branded clothing & PPE
Company laptop & IT equipment, iPhone, expenses credit card

Please supply a covering letter and CV before the closing date of 19th December 2024

Applications should be emailed to: pno.sscwarsaw@husqvarnagroup.com

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