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EDITOR'S BLOG

TIME TO GET TOUGH
On littering in public spaces
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

A recent trip to France, opened my eyes to the contrast between the cleanliness of roadside verges at home verses across the channel.

I have recently returned from my daughter’s wedding in France, where we had hired a chateau for the week for family members and friends to stay.

An amazing venue with reasonably well-kept gardens, however, I must say as a turf professional, the lawns could have done with a good renovation to introduce some new grasses into the sward and to remove the noticeable established broad leaved weeds.

No doubt during the summer months the lawns probably take a quite a battering with both foot traffic and the hot weather. I did notice some Rainbird pop-up sprinklers in the lawn areas, so hopefully they help keep the grass watered during the hot periods in the summer months.

However, having said that, the French have a different attitude towards their grassed areas in that they tend let them grow more naturally and do not share our British mentality of maintaining striped lawns.

The chateau was situated a couple of miles from the nearest town of Souillac, a half hour drive from Brieve Airport. We drove from our home in Shropshire to Souillac some 800 miles. The contrast between our roads in England and France are quite staggering. The roads in France were far better than ours in the UK - no potholes, no roadworks and more importantly no litter.

Everywhere we drove in France, through villages and towns, there was not one piece of litter to be seen. I was quite taken aback by the standard of care and attention to detail with the way they looked after their roads and verges. From talking to a few locals, while I cannot speak for all French roads, it is generally true that many French roads are kept relatively litter-free. There are several reasons for this:

Strict littering laws: In France, littering is taken very seriously and can result in a fine. This helps to discourage people from throwing rubbish out of their car windows or leaving litter on the side of the road.

Regular cleaning: Many French roads are regularly cleaned by local authorities, which helps to keep them free of litter. Street sweepers and garbage trucks are often seen cleaning up the roads and picking up any litter that may have been left behind.

Public awareness: French society places a strong emphasis on keeping public spaces clean, and this includes roads. There is a general awareness among the public that littering is not acceptable and that everyone has a responsibility to keep the environment clean.

Cultural values: Keeping public spaces clean is seen as a point of pride in French culture. This is reflected in the attention paid to maintaining public spaces, including roads.

Overall, it seems a combination of strict laws, regular cleaning, public awareness, and cultural values help to keep many French roads and public open spaces free of litter.

While staying in Pont de Remy I noticed a team of French workers cleaning the roads by hand and spreading salt to kill any weeds and unwanted vegetation in the pavements and road gullies.

The cleanliness of the towns and villages compared to what I regularly see in the UK, was a real eye-opener for me.

While working as a parks manager, I remember some local authority managers quoting figures of £1.5 million to keep their roads and verges free of litter each year. Multiply that by 400 local authorities in the UK and you are looking at a potential annual bill of £450 million for the cost of clearing litter from road verges.

A staggering cost, incurred simply due to the group of people in the UK who cannot be bothered to dispose of their litter in a responsible way. I personally believe it is about time we toughened up our littering laws in this country and, more importantly, started investing that lost money into our parks and public open spaces.

Budget decline for parks and green spaces

While on the subject of parks and open spaces, I read the latest bulletin published by APSE entitled the State of the Market 2023 for Parks and Greenspaces. This document stated some interesting facts on the way we should be listening to our communities and delivering better services.

APSE’s comment on this year’s survey was that undoubtedly the 2022/23 results were still being affected in some way by the impact of the pandemic.

Parks were called upon to meet public health and well-being needs like never before, and despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions, 60% of survey respondents are still stating that they have experienced increases in visitor numbers. This is to a certain degree worrying, not the success of parks in still attracting visitors, but the fact budgets are not reflecting the need for extra resources, with many expecting continuing budget cuts.

It was noticeable that over 92% of respondents now feel that parks should be given statutory status to prevent further cuts.

However, it would seem from the report that there is a real belief amongst parks professionals that service quality may start to be seriously affected, because of the ongoing pressures on budgets, changes to maintenance frequencies and a need for investment, particularly as visitor numbers are remaining high, and in many cases increasing.

As a Green Flag judge, I am constantly hearing the same dilemmas. Reduced budgets over time will see a reduced level of services within our parks and open spaces.

These reduced budgets are nothing new, in fact most local authorities have been dealing with the constant demise of budgets since the introduction of the Conservative government's 1988 Local Government Act (Compulsory Competitive Tendering Act of 1988). That extended compulsory tendering to a wide range of local authority services mainly supplied in the past by public departments in-house. Ever since this act was introduced, we have seen a constant reduction in parks budgets.

Moreover, the ambitions of the leveling up agenda will not be delivered if there is a remaining disparity in access to quality parks and greenspaces, particularly as this is a known determinant in health inequalities. The growing need to recognise the value of our parks and greenspaces both to public well-being and health but also to our local economies, has become abundantly clear over the pandemic years as whole communities descended upon parks and greenspaces as a place of solace.

Let us hope that in the coming years we will see a change in the government’s attitude to public parks and finally see them as the valuable assets we all know they are and finally make them a statutory service to ensure they are here for the next generation of park users.

NEWS

CLUB INSTIGATES NEW APPROACH
Investment for the future

In our first WEB ONLY story new leadership says if everything around the course is doing well, they have the budget to ensure the greenkeeping team gets all the tools it requires.

TURF GROWERS DEMO DAY SET
Machinery showcase

In our next WEB ONLY story organisers say event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the latest advancements in turf care equipment and how they can improve operations.

NEW DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCED
By Soil Scout

A new distribution partnership has been announced

Agreement will see manufacturer distribute the brand’s real-time, wireless soil monitoring solution to golf courses and sports turf facilities in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Bernhard and Company have announce a new and exclusive distribution partnership with Soil Scout, which will see them distribute the brand’s real-time, wireless soil monitoring solution to golf courses and sports turf facilities in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Soil Scout provides fully buried underground wireless soil sensor and monitoring solution for agriculture, golf, and sports turf maintenance professionals. Several golf courses and sports stadiums worldwide, including venues such as Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia Phillies, use Soil Scout to maintain their turf while reducing maintenance costs and water consumption.

Speaking about the new partnership, Soil Scout CEO Jalmari Talola said, “The UK represents the most significant market potential for professional turf in Europe, and our goal is to help the industry operate more efficiently by making critical soil information available to all users.

“Bernhard has been our familiar partner for seven years, and last year’s successful collaboration at the 2022 World Cup contributed to strengthening the relationship.”

Jalmari continued, “We are very pleased to have Bernhard onboard as the Soil Scout UK distributor and bring the company’s 100+ years of experience to the Soil Scout family. This is an exciting opportunity, and we are very much looking forward to getting to work with them.

“It’s extremely important we continue to align ourselves with like-minded partners who also value the importance of soil and plant health. We have been working with Bernhard for some time thanks to our relationship with SubAir Systems, and I am excited to continue growing this relationship and providing world-leading turf management solutions together.”

Steven Nixon, managing director for Bernhard and Company, added, “A partnership with Soil Scout was a very easy decision for us to make. We have been working together through SubAir Systems for many years now, and it feels like a natural evolution for us to add this product to our portfolio of turf health Solutions. We are very excited to be part of the continued business growth in the UK.”

SALES DIRECTOR APPOINTMENT
Aims to double turnover in 4 years

Company says well known figure's strong relationships, extensive knowledge of the industry and product expertise make him the ideal person to help deliver next stage of growth.

Tallis Amos Group (TAG) has confirmed the recruitment of Tom Shakeshaft as agricultural sales director for TAG’s West area.

Simon Amos and Tom Shakeshaft

Tom has previously spent 17 years associated with John Deere products and most recently has had two years as managing director of a Fendt dealer covering Shropshire, Cheshire and Mid Wales.

The announcement follows recent news from TAG regarding significant expansion into Shropshire - with their 40,000 sq ft depot based at Allscott, near Telford, opening this May 2023.

Simon Amos, TAG sales & used equipment director, said, “We have plans to double our turnover to £120m within four years. This appointment illustrates the ambition of the company and our desire to recruit first class people to help drive this journey.

“Ben and I have known Tom for over 15 years. His strong relationships, extensive knowledge of the agricultural industry and exceptional product knowledge make him the ideal person to help TAG deliver its next stage of continued growth.”

Tom Shakeshaft said, “I am delighted to join TAG, I have known Simon and Ben for many years, and I am looking forward to working with them and the rest of team. Tallis Amos has a great reputation throughout the area it covers, and my priority will be to help the team establish themselves to deliver outstanding sales and service in the new Shropshire area.”

FLEET EXPANDED
Working at high profile venues

Company says that working for high profile clients across the sporting sector comes with high expectations.

Fineturf and Tillers Turf say they have recently taken delivery of six more Kubota units to their fleet.

Renovations at Lord's

Managing director Simon Hutton says that working for high profile clients across the sporting sector comes with high expectations, therefore reliability is key when it comes to specifying new equipment.

“The oldest tractor we have is a Kubota L4630 which is 18 years old, with close to 11,500 hours on it and continues to give us what we need day in, day out” explains Simon. “The simplicity of operation, consistency in performance and value for money we get from the brand is unparalleled.”

Among the recent delivery were two L2522 tractors from the manufacturer’s L2 series of cabbed, compact tractors - taking Simon’s total tally of these machines up to the mid-twenties. “These are the workhorses on our contracting division” he explains. “We’ll have at least one on most jobs, and they’ll remain on site for the duration of the contract whether that’s one day or six months."

While the L2522’s are additions to meet with demand, the new M6111 and M4073 are replacing another brand and join an M6002 series already in use on the Tillers Turf operation. “We use these tractors at every stage of turf production on our 2200 acres - from getting the seed in the ground to getting the turf onto the pallets and out to the customers.

“Where we are now and with the scale of the operation, I honestly believe that without the level of service we get from our equipment and the fabulous people at Kubota who provide outstanding ongoing support, we wouldn’t be in business.”

ADDITION TO DEALER NETWORK
Announced by manufacturer

L-R: Matt Gledhill, Hannah Setchfield and Ashley Clough

Dealer describes the franchise as a perfect addition to their current service offerings and existing franchises, solidifying their position as a local expert.

Merlo UK have announced that Lincolnshire-based RC Setchfield Ltd are set to join their dealer network.

L-R: Matt Gledhill, Merlo UK product support specialist; Hannah Setchfield, director, and Ashley Clough, area sales manager of RC Setchfield Ltd

“This appointment symbolises Merlo UK’s commitment to providing our customers with strong and full coverage across South Lincolnshire,” explained Owen Buttle, national sales manager at Merlo UK. "As a family-owned business ourselves, we understand the strengths and stability of family-owned and operated companies. The longstanding reputation of RC Setchfield as telehandler specialists places them at the forefront of service and sales expertise in the local area.”

Founded in 1982 by Richard and Heather Setchfield to service machinery, RC Setchfield rapidly expanded into sales and parts following demand from their customer base. The business has since been passed to their daughter Hannah Setchfield, who has led the company as a director since 2021.

Hannah said, “We are delighted by this partnership with Merlo at this juncture in our history, a perfect addition to our current service offerings and existing franchises, solidifying our position asva material handler expert in the local area.

“All the team are excited to be working with a company that shares our core values; a family business, putting customers and innovation at the centre of its operations, in order to compete and do things differently.”

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