GREEN IS THE COLOUR
Much needed rain
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR
With the change in the weather we should hopefully see our public green spaces, which have taken a hammering under lockdown, come to life.
Finally last week, we got some much-needed rain to help dampen down the dust and hopefully stimulate some new grass growth to green up the many areas of parched public open spaces and playing fields.
Recently these areas have of course taken a hammering from the public trying to get some much needed respite from the current Covid-19 outbreak. Many parts of the country have for over ten weeks received little or no rainfall, leaving our landscape looking a bit tired and dried out.
With less than 10mm of rain in most parts of the country May was recorded as the driest since records began.
If indeed this predicted rain does bear fruition, we will no doubt see the well-presented playing surfaces we usually expect to see at this time of the year - as seen in the picture above at Radleys College.
As for Covid -19 we are still awaiting confirmation of when some sports will resume and at what level they can operate.
As mentioned in recent articles about Robin Hood GC and Olton GC, golf has seen a successful return, albeit under limited restrictions. The knock-on effect has seen many new players wanting to join clubs as members. Which in turn means the golf course traffic will inevitably increase, putting more pressure on the greenkeeping teams to keep the course in good condition. With many still running on reduced staff numbers this will prove challenging. So I do hope that clubs recognise this hard work and ensure they have the appropriate support during these difficult times.
On the machinery front as pointed out by my colleague Steve Gibbs,editor of Service Dealer, many machinery dealers have seen a surge in business since the recent easing of lockdown -with several local authority and golf clubs starting to invest in new machinery.
With many dealers increasing their online sales portfolio and undertaking their own made video demonstrations, I was certainly impressed with David Withers, md of Iseki, recent run of promo videos. He certainly believes and has a great understanding of the products the company are selling.
As for professional sports, the Premier League have announced only one positive case of coronavirus from 1,197 samples across the fifth round of testing last week. With two weeks until the top-flight season resumes, the number of positive cases have remained very low, but have climbed from the zero recorded in the fourth set of tests.
It is not yet known whether the positive test is from a player or member of staff, or which club they are from, but they will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.
The Premier League have also just approved plans for clubs to use five substitutes during matches when the season resumes. Clubs will also be allowed nine substitutes on the bench when fixtures recommence in just under two weeks time.
As for me, I am now looking at venturing out and starting to plan some visits. I’ve got a couple of golf courses to see along with a visit to Harper Adams University where I will be liaising with Mark Hall their estates manager who has agreed to test some machinery that I have had sent to me from STIHL and EGO. Having seen these products on a couple of recent press trips, I managed to persuade both companies to lend me their equipment for trial.
It always nice to have a go and test machinery in a working setting. STIHL have sent me a long pole HTA 85 battery powered pruning saw their newest profession RMA 765V rotary mower.
EGO also very kindly sent me their latest STX3800 Strimmer with RTX2300 Rotocut head and battery back pack.
Over the next few week Mark and I will be putting all these products through their paces and seeing how they perform in the work place. I will be using some of the equipment and will comment on the pruning saw, but most of the feedback will be coming from Mark and his staff and others I may get to use this equipment. There is no better way than to try out the equipment yourself and find what works for you.
I would like to thank both companies for sending me the equipment to try and I am looking forward to using it in the coming weeks.
As for other news I am pleased to announce that Paul Rabbits and a number of parks mangers have been instrumental in launching a new Parks Management Forum.
The Parks Management Forum has been set up to support parks practitioners, with a website dedicated to those working in public parks. It is here to share expertise, innovation, ideas as well as promote the use of public parks. Their aim is to:
- Celebrate the central role well-run parks play in our neighbourhoods for all sections of our communities and raise its value regionally and nationally;
- Recognise and endorse the roles of parks and open spaces for health and well-being
- Endorse best management practices and play a role in facilitating roll out amongst practitioners;
- Embed the effective role parks and open spaces have as green infrastructure endorsing sustainable development and protection;
- Lobby for long-term resources for ongoing maintenance, management and development;
- Play a role in finding solutions with government and relevant partner organisations – “one voice – one lobby”
- Encourage and enable community involvement and empowerment of local people and park users.
Knowing Paul as I do, this new website will help parks managers to be better able to communicate between one another and will help support the role of these parks professionals.
It has been long overdue, has many of us know, over the years we have seen several attempts to set up equivalent organisations to help promote the work of these Park professionals but to no avail.
I will surely be helping Paul to get this new organisation off the ground. Parks Officers/ Mangers definitely need a voice to help them move forward and promote the value of public parks and open spaces.
Finally, the Amenity Forum has just announced that its 2020 Conference will go ahead on October 15th at the Kettering Conference Centre.
The conference will also be made available online to registered delegates. The Forum say they will be using specialist conferencing software for those unable to attend in person. Read more about the announcement in TurfPro today, here.
For further information on the programme contact admin@amenityforum.net
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STRI LAUNCH PROJECT PATHFINDER
Part of government's emergency Covid-19 innovation strategy
This week's WEB ONLY story is that the project will provide sports facilities and green spaces, affected by the Covid-19 crisis, with stage one consultation advice for free between June and August 2020.
AMENITY FORUM CONFERENCE TO GO AHEAD IN 2020
Set for October 15th
The Amenity Forum has announced that its 2020 Conference will go ahead at the Kettering Conference Centre and will also be made available online to registered delegates.
The Amenity Forum has announced that its 2020 Conference will go ahead on October 15th at the Kettering Conference Centre.
Professor John Moverley, Chairman of the Forum
The conference will also be made available online to registered delegates. The Forum say they will be using specialist conferencing software for those unable to attend in person. In a statement orgainisers confirmed that having liaised with the venue and all concerned, it is felt possible to run the event at the conference centre and all measures will be taken in terms of social distancing and related matters.
Professor John Moverley, Chairman of the Forum, said, "We did consider delaying the event but we believe that there are so many important issues facing the sector currently, not least the on-going review of the National Action Plan by the UK and national governments. The conference has become an important one for the sector. We can assure delegates that all precautions will be taken and feel the offer of on-line access is a positive step. We recognise some delegates may still have reservations on attending in person’’.
The title of the conference is 'Amenity Management – Planning for the Future' and a range of speakers has been secured to address the issues.
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NAME CHANGE FOR INTELLIGENT ONE
To U.S brand title, Turf Tank
The decision has been made to bring the robotic line marking company together as one around the world.
The robotic line marking company, Intelligent One, has changed their name to the U.S brand title, Turf Tank.
Until now, the company has been operating under Intelligent Marking everywhere outside of the United States. The decision has now been made to bring the company together as one, and this merge will also see the renaming of the GPS line marker which will now be known as the Turf Tank One.
This development at the Danish company coincides with the appointment of new CEO, Olav Jørgensen and COO, Morten Kaalund.
The company have also announced the launch of the latest software update that they say delivers "much-requested features" as well as improving both usability and reliability. This begins with the update process itself, which can now be done straight from the tablet.
Other major features of the 1.5 update include setting flags/points right from the tip of the nozzle, being able to rotate a field around its centre or in discrete steps (1/45/90 degree increments etc.), moving the field by pushing buttons next to the edge of the field itself and a new ‘select shape’ dialogue that makes browsing through route plans more intuitive.
In the UK, Turf Tank is handled by ProSport UK Ltd.
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EARLY RETIREMENT FOR JEFF ANGUIGE
Following 46 years in the industry
Reesink Turfcare has announced the retirement of its national sales manager Jeff Anguige after 21 years working with the Toro UK distributor and its predecessor Lely UK.
Reesink Turfcare has announced the retirement of its national sales manager Jeff Anguige after 21 years working with the Toro UK distributor and its predecessor Lely UK, and a total of 46 years serving the turfcare industry.
Jeff, 63, began working in the industry straight after leaving college, learning the business working at golf and grounds dealerships and turf machinery manufacturers such as Ransomes. In 1999 he joined the then Toro UK distributor Lely UK, with headquarters at St Neots, Cambs., as national Toro sales manager, responsible for spearheading sales of its golf course and sports turf maintenance machinery.
At Lely, and latterly Reesink, he has played a leading role in helping develop the Toro name and reputation.
It is, he says, his biggest career achievement; “Toro has been the constant in my working life at Lely and Reesink,” says Jeff. “For over two decades I’ve worked with a brilliant team to help it grow to where it is today - in my view, holding the number one spot for quality with its reputation preceding it.
“I’ve always had total belief in Toro. So many of my career highlights have come from witnessing how Toro has made such a huge difference for our customers. How it has greatly improved the quality of the golf course, made tasks easier for the greenkeeping team or solved a particular problem. In my time I’ve seen Toro go to the top of not only the golf industry, but the sports sector and other fine turf sites, too. It’s now at a point where around 80 percent of Premiership football clubs, as well as other major sporting venues in, for example, cricket, rugby and tennis, also use Toro.”
Jeff has seen many big changes throughout his time in the industry. Among the biggest, he says, is the way in which clubs now buy their machinery. He says: “When I started, people tended to get their cheque book out and buy one piece of equipment at a time, outright. Now the majority of customers invest in fleet deals on finance. It gives the option to have more machines straightaway for the same level of investment, as well as the latest technology to maintain playing surfaces. The upscale is huge, as is the improvement in quality of playing surfaces. It’s certainly a very different market to when I started, and very much for the better.”
David Cole, managing director at Reesink, paid tribute to Jeff and the instrumental role he’s played with the company, saying, “Jeff has been at the forefront of the Toro equipment success for over twenty years and his focus and dedication will be challenging for the business to replace. I am sure that the extensive contacts and colleagues Jeff has built up during his time in the industry will want to join us at Reesink in wishing him all the very best for a well-earned and enjoyable retirement. Jeff will always be able to look back with pride on his role with the Toro brand, as a job well done”.
Jeff plans to spend his retirement in his native Yorkshire, where he lives in Gomersal with his wife, Julie, enjoying time with his family and grandchildren – and, of course, playing golf.
A man who enjoys huge respect and fondness from among his many friends and colleagues in the industry, Jeff says: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working in the industry and am delighted to have been a part of it. It’s a relationship industry and I’ve gained friends for life. I believe it still offers great career opportunities for young people and will watch with interest as the next generation comes through.
“Despite the current difficulties presented by Covid-19, I’m confident that Reesink, Toro and the turfcare industry has an exciting future,” he says. “Yes, there will be challenges and changes ahead, but also plenty of opportunities. I wish it and all my friends and colleagues in the industry every success for the future.”
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LISTER WILDER TAKE ON KESLA
Exclusive dealer for the south of England
Dealership grows its forestry machinery offering, bringing Valtra partner into the fold.
Lister Wilder has announced that it has taken on Kesla as of 1st of June 2020, becoming the sole dealer of the franchise in the south of England.
'Virtual handshake’ between Janne Sinkkonen of Kesla and Dan Sharood of Lister Wilder
As a longstanding AGCO dealer of the Valtra franchise, Lister Wilder say it was a natural progression to bring Valtra’s partner, Kesla, into the fold.
Dan Sharood, Valtra brand manager at Lister Wilder, said, "We’re thrilled to be adding Kesla to our product portfolio. The range will include forest trailers, loaders and woodchippers, and our service team have recently been trained remotely in each of these product categories.
"We very much look forward to working with the team at Kesla who share similar values to us as a family owned business for 60 and over 70 years respectively, and an unequivocally shared passion in forestry and farming solutions across all sectors."
Janne Sinkkonnen, director of tractor forest equipment at Kesla said, "Here at Kesla we have found a great partner in Lister Wilder to represent our brand in the south of England. We have followed their success in representing the Valtra brand over the years and their continued efforts to ensure the forestry sector has the necessary equipment and all-important back-up to continue to grow. The partnership is very much a natural move and we look forward to working closely with the team to ensure our product range is front of mind and in the hands of those who require cutting edge forestry and farming solutions."
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CAMPEY GIVE AMS THE SPACE THEY NEED
Secondary drainage machine
AMS Contracting needed unit that could work at 1m and 0.5 spacings.
Sports turf and land drainage contractors, AMS Contracting, recently needed a secondary drainage machine that could work at 1m and 0.5 spacings.
The West Sussex based company work on projects throughout the United Kingdom and had been using other secondary drainage machines, but customer demand for 1m spacing led them to consider the Koro TopDrain 1000, supplied through Campey Turf Care Systems.
Ben Taylor, product specialist for Campeys accompanied Ashley Strange with his brother Myles, co-owners and managers of AMS Contracting, to view the machine in action at the Imants factory in Holland. Both said they were impressed with the engineering of the TopDrain and could see it was exactly what they were looking for.
“We found that not all of our clients wanted or needed 0.5m spacing, so we wanted to find a solution to offer them,” Ashley explained. “There were some factors away from spacing like the build quality, labour time and availability of the machine that were high on our list and after seeing it at the Imants factory, we were sure it was what we needed. Everything from the engineering to the quality of the paintwork was impressive and we placed the order there and then.
“We had quite a few pitches to get through in early Spring so a quick turnaround time for us was essential and Campey had the machine with us a week after we viewed it in Holland.
“Now, we’ve already used the TopDrain on cricket and football pitches which has gone very well, and it will soon be working on some rugby pitches. It’s dealt really well with tough compacted surfaces and because it’s fully operated from the cab the labour time when using it compared to our other machines has been significantly reduced."
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ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS HERE
Amazing success rates!
Advertise your recruitment needs on TurfPro Weekly Briefing and reach our targeted audience of recipients every week.
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THE 21st CENTURY PARKS MANAGER
Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial
by Paul Rabbitts, MLA, FRSA, The Parks Management Forum
Paul Rabbits, head of Parks, Heritage and Culture for Watford Borough Council, explains the ethos behind the newly launched Parks Management Forum.
As an ex parks manager and current Green Flag judge, I am very pleased to have Paul Rabbits providing this weeks Viewpoint article for TurfPro.
Paul has for many years, being championing the plight of local authority parks and public open spaces. He is currently head of Parks, Heritage and Culture for Watford Borough Council and in in his limited spare time, he writes, lectures, and promotes the value of public parks. -Laurence Gale, TurfPro editor
The use of parks over the last 4 months has increased by over 136% nationally and in some localities, even more.
This is no accident. Parks have always been popular for decades, even through challenging times (CCT, Best Value, financial crisis and austerity). With the global impact of the Covid-19 crisis, parks have been rediscovered by many after weeks of lockdown, isolation, and loss of liberty. Local authorities and trusts, charities and volunteers, already stretched, have surpassed themselves in ensuring our parks and open spaces continue to be managed and maintained, often with frontline staff still out working and parks managers, having to adapt to new ways of working. With the formation of the Parks Management Forum in May 2020, parks managers have at last come together to look collaboratively at ways to ensure parks remain a political priority within their localities but also nationally.
Over recent years, there have been many reports that the term ‘park manager’ was indeed a dying breed. The Guardian on 11th February 2017 wrote – from an anonymous park manager - “Park managers like me are a dying breed, an endangered species. During the formative years of my training I would write detailed plans about how to landscape and manage the park. Today I am set the unenviable challenge of having to stop doing things like planning and designing new flowerbeds for the public to enjoy. I have to cut back on the maintenance and litter-picking that ensured the park always looked its finest. I question what my role as a manager really means anymore.”
A year earlier, in Horticulture Week, a park manager was quoted as “When I started it was all about horticulture. I can't even remember the last time I specified what type of tree we needed… Now it's very much about what goes on in the park. It's about activity, it's about negotiating leases, it's very much around engagement rather than maintenance. We're always having to evolve”. Horticulture Week also reported as early as 2012, "Park-specific jobs have gone and posts have gone upwards to directors of leisure, sport or even waste - or they've gone downwards to people in acting-head posts. Park managers are an endangered species."
Dr Stewart Harding, former Director of The Parks Agency was once quoted,- "Several senior parks managers have left the service through redundancy, retirement or disillusionment. These kinds of losses are widespread and the outcome will be a decline in maintenance standards”.
Tony Leach, Chair, London Parks & Green Spaces Forum was also quoted saying, "Over the past 18 months, 25 per cent (of London Parks Managers) have either left or their jobs have been deleted. We are losing people with park-specific skills who are often being replaced by staff responsible for leisure or sport or those lower down the food chain with less knowledge”.
Pretty heavy going headlines huh! And quite depressing. However, history tells us a great deal. We have much to learn from it. Some of our greatest parks came from the likes of visionaries like Sir Joseph Paxton, Edward Milner, Edward Kemp, and James Pennethorne. Yet the majority of our public parks came about because of the vision of local authority parks superintendents, borough surveyors or engineers. These included J.J. Sexby for the London County Council, who designed and eventually managed some of our greatest parks in London; James McHattie, responsible for many of Edinburgh’s parks; William Wallace Pettigrew, designer and park superintendent for most of Cardiff and Manchester’s parks and of course, Captain Sandys Winsch, responsible for most of the parks in Norwich. These are the most well-known but dig a little deeper and you will find in places like Carlisle, many of the parks were designed and ultimately managed by the Borough Surveyor, Percy Dalton. This is not unusual.
Parks Departments were one of the most important service areas within local authorities. Britain in Bloom was a key driver, now overtaken by Green Flag Award. But changes were afoot. Parks departments were often amalgamated into Leisure Services Departments as part of CCT and several years later as these areas disappeared, parks services became part of what became known as Streetscene Services. Park Managers were now working alongside binmen, highwaymen and engineers.
1996 saw the revival inspired by the magnificent and munificent Heritage Lottery Fund, now the Heritage Fund. A billion pounds later, we saw a resurgence in parks and new roles created, including site specific park managers and parks development officers, and in many cases, staff in parks.
With the loss of ILAM, the Urban Parks Forum, GreenSpace and CABE Space, park managers have battled on, doing their job, writing lottery applications, managing Friends Groups, dealing with contractors, consultants, procurement, writing management plans and developing strategies, with fewer resources and severe austerity.
So where am I going with this? In 2017, I was asked to speak at an APSE conference at Tatton Park, aimed at parks professionals. My choice of subject was ‘The 21st Century Park Manager – are we the last of a dying breed’. My message was simple. We have been at the sharp end of cuts to services and the impact has been significant, but as parks managers, we have adapted, we have grown, we have changed and we continue to adapt to changing circumstances. Our job titles in many cases may have changed and we find Public Realm, or Streetscene, or Place Management and Culture in our job titles, and we may have a mixed portfolio, but parks managers have ‘changed their spots’. Paxton was a globalist, he was a gardener, a horticulturalist, a plantsman, a designer of glass houses, a park designer and an architect. He adapted, he grew and he evolved. As part of the lecture, I looked at the role of what a park manager used to be in comparison to what it is today. This was picked up and adapted by APSE and developed further. What this proved is that as a profession, we have adapted, evolved and grown. Paxton did and so have we.
Work that was carried out by APSE on behalf of the Parks Action Group highlighted how indeed parks managers have adapted. It is what we do. As part of this work in pulling together a new Parks Management Forum, it is clear there are many of us working in the sector and where there are many who have ‘come from the tools’ and have decades of experience, there are many who have degrees, diplomas, PhDs, in Horticulture, Ecology, Environmental Services, Botany, Landscape Architecture, Forestry and many now have MBA’s or are working towards them. Our skillset now includes:
- Staff management
- Contract Management
- Budget Management
- Horticultural and Arboricultural Management
- Asset & Facilities Management
- Visitor Management
- Award Submissions
- Volunteer Management, Community Development/Friends Groups
- Apprenticeships
- Staff development
- Policy development and partnership working
- Performance monitoring and compliance
- Creativity and innovation
- Flood alleviation, Climate Change
- Design and Construction
- Biodiversity
- Strategy & Policy development
- Natural Capital
- Heritage Management
- Health and Wellbeing projects
- Risk Management, Health & Safety
- Fundraising and Marketing
- Working in a political environment
- Effective communication and complaints resolution
- Ability to handle many and potentially conflicting objectives
- Advocacy and promotion
- Children’s play
- Sports and Events management
- Needs of older people
I ended my session with 10 points to consider by all.
- We are parks people – ensure we have parks in our job title – it’s what we do;
- We need a career pathway – the old traditional route is defunct - we should be targeting schools of landscape architecture, ecology, environmental science – it’s not just about horticulture as we have diversified;
- We need to identify the ‘stars’ –Who are they? Where are they?
- Government champion – not necessarily a politician but an inside champion;
- A body that champions our cause – to ensure the survival of the profession;
- We must be VISIBLE and BE HEARD – enter Green Flag – be seen to be being seen and if you aren’t heard, no one will know you are there and you will continue to be ignored;
- Be STRATEGIC – maximum impact in the right place;
- Embrace the Health Agenda – find out who is responsible for public health in your area / authority – they could be the key to your survival;
- Spend what we have wisely – maximum impact – we are still Local Government PLC;
- Don’t be afraid to take risks.
Sue Ireland, former Director of Open Spaces at the City of London, on retiring was asked what advice she would give:-
- “Be prepared to learn from other sectors – look outside the sector for inspiration”
- “Internal networks are important – get involved, don’t wait to be asked”
- “Good people skills – crucial to the future parks manager”
- “Working with people, taking the time to think and plan properly and think strategically”
The parks manager today has to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial. We have adapted and we continue to adapt to ensure our parks are fit today and for those that will use them in the future. The case studies below highlight this.
Case Study 1 – Nottingham City Council - Social Entrepreneurship & Commercialisation: New Skills and New Ways of Working
- Over the past 8 years, Nottingham has delivered a £250million reduction to its core budget and we have had to find a further £30million in the next year and most likely similar level savings each year up to 2019/20.
- Gross expenditure has reduced year on year since 2009
- The service Budget has reduced from £8million to £5.8million.
- During this time Income has significantly increased, creating a net service cost of around £550k.
- The team brings in 91% of service costs
- Whilst our development team generate £12 external capital funding for every £1 of Council funds.
- External funding since 2007 totals £38million, achieved through bids, commercial activities and partnerships.
- Quality services have been retained and service improvements continue.
Nottingham City Council Parks Budget Challenge
- Gross expenditure has reduced year on year since 2009
- The service Budget has reduced from £8million to £5.8million.
- During this time Income has significantly increased, creating a net service cost of around £550k.
- The team brings in 91% of service costs.
- Whilst our development team generate £12 external capital funding for every £1 of Council funds.
- External funding since 2007 totals £38million, achieved through bids, commercial activities and partnerships.
- Quality services have been retained and service improvements continue.
The Parks Service Response to the Budget Challenge
The Parks team has responded by:-
- driving up productivity,
- maximising efficiencies
- developing a wide range of commercial income generating projects.
- And creating new service offers to generate more income and offset the impact of the budget reductions.
- Jobs have been protected.
- Sustain service delivery
- Continue our Parks improvement programme
Case Study 2 – Watford Borough Council – Parks Improvement Programme – taking a strategic approach
In 2011, Watford Borough Council had a S106 pot of £5 million to allocate to parks and open spaces. The council took a strategic approach, and carried out a quality, accessibility and quantitative audit of all it’s open spaces and looked at the value of each to the community. This led to a 3-tier approach to allocating funding to the spaces that mattered. The innovative Green Spaces Strategy has seen over £25 million allocated to improving its network of parks and green spaces, with further capital investment, an award-winning Lottery Funded £7 million restoration of Cassiobury Park, and an increase in Green Flags from 3 in 2011 to 12 in 2020, with a target of 16 by 2022.
Paul Rabbitts BA Hons, MLA, FRSA (and proud of these)
Head of Parks Heritage and Culture
Watford Borough Council
Contributions from:
Eddie Curry MBA, HND (Horticulture) – Nottingham City Council
Dr Mary Worrall BSc, MA, DBA, CPPI, FIPM – Wirral MBC
Paul O’Brien – Chief Executive APSE
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