Those of us in England are now into our second lockdown. What effect it will have on our industry is anybody’s guess – however the attitude of most of us in the industry will be the show must go on! Managing nature is a daily battle to deliver the expectations of such a diverse landscape industry and as I have said many times before, the grass doesn’t stop growing just because there’s a lockdown!

I am hoping that this enforced break will be more effective than the last one. We should now have a better understanding of the virus, with resources and measures in place to monitor, track and trace this deadly virus. We all need to be more vigilant and respectful to one another and all play our part in beating this pandemic.

Until we get a vaccine we are going to have to learn to live with it and try and get on with our daily lives as best has we can. However, the long term damage of this pandemic is yet to be evaluated.

I personally think that there will many casualties along the way for our sector, with community sports clubs, golf facilities and small businesses taking the brunt in the coming 18 months.

The full extent of the closure of grassroots sports over the next month has been confirmed after Boris Johnson refused to allow exemptions for golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and junior sports. 

Further information regarding sports clubs can be read here.

I also read in The Times that Lisa Wainwright, Chief Executive of the Sports & Recreation Alliance which represents British national sports organisations, said that these new restrictions will critically affect over 150,000 plus local sports clubs in every community across England and place them in a perilous scenario, not knowing if they will ever open again.

Many have done well to last this long, but how much longer they can last is another question?

The introduction of vaccines will not readily happen until next year, if we are lucky. We will then need time to see how effective they prove. In the meantime we are in the hands of the government who will have to decide to manage the situation.

We have a responsibility to look after ourselves first and foremost and be respectful of others and heed the advice and recommendations of government. I firmly believe our sector has acted very responsibly in regards to the pandemic and over the last 10 months has done a great job in coping and coming to terms with these new ways of working.

We are, and have always been, an adaptive, innovative and resilient industry. I am more than confident we will continue to work hard in doing what we do best and over time will overcome this terrible situation.

I think that we should use this next six months to take stock and perhaps take the opportunity for senior industry figures to come together to discuss how we could move forward as one for the future betterment of our sector.

As we all know, we have many organisations, establishments and sporting governing bodies who play significant roles in delivering a wide range of activities and sports across the board.

I would like to suggest a few that I think could come together and kick off a series of meetings to discuss the future of our industry.

Off the top of my head I can think of GMA, BIGGA, R&A, APSE, National Trust, Parks Management Forum, Historic England, Fields in Trust, BALI, RHS, BAGMA, representation from University and Colleges, JD, Ransomes, Toro, Iseki, Kubota, Stihl, Dennis, Campey Turfcare, Sports governing bodies (RFU, RFL, FA, Bowls England, LTA, Hockey, British Horse racing authority ) Amenity Forum, Basis Langtra, Service Dealer - and I’m sure there would be other interested parties who would be interested in taking part.

Across the industry we have plenty of dedicated professionals who all want to see a way forward in ensuring our industry continues to prosper and ensures the future management of our valuable environmental assets.

I do not see why we cannot bring these dedicated people together under one roof to discuss the way forward. I remember Martin Jones organising what was then a National Turf Conference, that attracted a lot of senior practitioners and managers worldwide. Maybe this format could act as a catalyst for a new initiative to bring our industry together?

I am sure we can achieve something along these lines. Yes, we all have our own agendas, however, now is the time for us all to come together and really set out our stall for the future.

We have so much to talk about:

• Industry shows
• Education & Training
• Recruiting new staff
• Pay and conditions
• Funding opportunities
• Local authority services
• Community sports participation
• Grants and aides
• Professional sports requirements
• Environmental needs
• Raising the profile of our industry
• Pesticides and their use
• Safeguarding resources, particularly water

We have been a fragmented industry for too many years. It is time to have some clearer objectives and goals to help us get past this pandemic and look to ensuring we can continue to maintain this unique mosaic landscape and environment for future generations.