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Grounds Management Association announces #GroundsWeek 2022
The Grounds Management Association (GMA) has announced the return of #GroundsWeek in 2022, to be held once again in the first week of March (28th February – 6th March). This year, GMA launched the inaugural #GroundsWeek – a campaign celebrating grounds management professionals and volunteers, and galvanising a new generation of grounds enthusiasts to help avoid a major skills gap. The integrated digital and media campaign reached over 135 million people, secured support from 1,193 organisations and individuals, and generated over 3,000 mentions of #GroundsWeek on social media. Following the huge successes of the inaugural celebration week, GMA has confirmed that GroundsWeek will continue to celebrate and highlight the vital…
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Announcing BALI Chalk Fund Champions
The British Association of Landscape Industries’ own charity, the BALI Chalk Fund, has launched Chalk Fund Champions to help combat the industry skills gap. This new funding scheme will open doors for individuals and businesses looking to support ongoing training and development in the landscape sector. Trustees of the Chalk Fund have ambitious plans to increase both the level of funds raised and the amount of activity following the launch of the Champions, a scheme which provides an opportunity for individuals and companies to invest in the education, training, motivating and equipping of the next generation of landscape professionals. The…
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Latest plans unveiled for Grange Park residential development
Local residents are being asked for their views on the designs for new homes at Grange Park. 131 new homes are proposed at two sites along with enhanced open spaces and improved pedestrian and cycle access. The proposal comprises of two separate but connected sites within Grange Park intended to be developed by Blackpool Council for social housing which would be managed by Blackpool Coastal Housing. The northern site comprises land at the corner of Gateside Drive and Chepstow Road whilst the southern site is located at Dinmore Avenue / Bathurst Avenue. The plans by Cassidy + Ashton architects have…
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Key actions to improve air quality in Birmingham
With less than two months to go until the launch of Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone, the City Council has published its Air Quality Action Plan 2021. The new Plan will replace the Council’s previous Air Quality Action Plan 2011 and outlines some key actions to improve air quality in Birmingham between 2021-2026. They include: Supporting and implementing strategic transport improvements to continue work on delivering a £1.2 billion integrated public transport network within the next 20 years. This will incorporate three more Metro lines, nine cross-city bus rapid transit lines, reopening and upgrading rail routes and associated stations. Promoting behaviour…
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Smiths gabion stone shows versatility
Smiths Gabion limestone blocks have been primarily used to fill gabion baskets for ground stabilisation, be it river banks, railway and road embankments and bridge abutments. However, the way this simple un-seen stone product is being used is changing. Our gabion stone is a crushed Cotswold limestone with its typical Cotswold hues – warm creams and honey appearance – which offers landscape designers a softer more natural appearance to any large engineering project where the stone is left exposed. Equally this can be used to enhance any smaller landscape or garden project. With the ability to supply a mixture of…
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Grounds Care Group acquires Green & Tidy Landscapes Ltd
Surrey based Grounds Care Group has completed the acquisition of Green & Tidy Landscapes Ltd. The deal reinforces the firm’s position as a market leading provider of grounds care and landscaping services, strengthening its offering in the Thames Valley region. As well as Green & Tidy’s client base, Grounds Care Group will also take on all staff members, equipment and facilities, including the Green & Tidy depot in Moulsford, Oxfordshire. The additional infrastructure will enable Grounds Care Group to expand its geographical reach and expertise in a range of grounds care solutions and services, including gritting, grounds maintenance, invasive weed…
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Pro Landscaper TV Story of Success: Rachel and Richard Kay
Register now for the next instalment of Pro Landscaper TV – Story of Success: Rachel and Richard Kay, sponsored by Ariens. Watch LIVE on Tuesday 13 April 2021 at 10am as Jim Wilkinson speaks with Richard and Rachel Kay about the success of landscape supply business Green-tech. REGISTER HERE Rachel, the MD, and Richard, the Chairman, launched Green-tech over 25 years ago. They recently sold the business, but will continue for the next 12 months. Jim Wilkinson will question the pair on what made the business so successful, how they set out in business over 25 years ago, and what…
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Bennett Landscapes & Maintenance rebrands
Bennett Landscapes & Maintenance Ltd, a Midlands-based grounds maintenance company, recently rebranded and unveiled a new company logo, redesigned website, service vehicles and uniform. Since 2003, Bennett Landscapes & Maintenance has been supplying a comprehensive range of services to both the Public and Private sector. With this rebranding, Bennett Landscapes & Maintenance is innovating the foundations of the company without losing the core family roots. As a third generation family business, Bennett’s has evolved into a 78 head office and grounds personnel empire, growing at a rate of 40% YoY and is set to expand further in 2021. Now one…
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National Plant Show 2021 postponed
The HTA announced that this year’s National Plant Show will not happen but will instead come back next year, bigger and better than ever. Following the Prime Minister’s Roadmap, the association has continually reviewed government advice and guidance to assess the feasibility of running the 2021 much-loved event. After much deliberation, have decided we will sadly not be able to run the show this year. Having considered the many factors that are essential to running a safe and successful exhibition, on a date that enables the show to deliver its purpose, we have concluded that we are not able to…
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Sustainability key in future highway design
Key considerations of future road design will be sustainability and climate change, thanks to a panel of design experts who are working closely with Highways England. The Company’s Strategic Design Panel has published its fourth progress recommendations report. The report discusses the Panel’s progress over the past year and a half (June 2019 to end of 2020) and suggests key recommendations to take forward in the second period. The Panel recommendations include: accelerate communication and training to promote and embed its design vision and principles into its processes and culture act on the Panel’s recommendations for adapting to climate change,…
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British Association of Landscape Industries launches fresh new brand
The British Association of Landscape Industries has unveiled its new look ahead of its 50th year in business in 2022, marking the start of a new chapter in the Trade Association’s prestigious history. Spearheading the brand is the Association’s fresh, contemporary new identity, boldly updated for 2021 while celebrating its heritage. Following a three-year development cycle which saw the team at Landscape House carry out research and analysis, a series of stakeholder interviews and a brand positioning exercise, several significant changes were decided upon to improve the Association’s continued efforts to promote, support and inspire its members, the wider landscape…
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Flourish Nursery presents £25,000 Taxus Cloud Bonsai tree
Flourish Nursery is delighted to display their newest arrival, a huge Taxus Cloud Bonsai tree. During a trip to Tuscany in September last year, Alex and his colleagues agreed to purchase the most expensive tree their Italian suppliers had to offer. The tree stands in a 2.5 ton wooden pot and is 3.5m in height and width. It is important to the nursery that they showcase the weird and the wonderful. Alex Bayman, director at Flourish Nursery, said: “We go out to the Tuscan Hills to buy amazing specimens for our nursery. We aim to have that extra special wow…
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Shortlist announced for the Pro Landscaper Business Awards 2021
The Pro Landscaper Business Awards 2021 shortlist has been announced. 2021 saw a 90%+ increase in entries on last year, and the judges will spend time analysing the entries to come up with a winner in each of the 14 categories. The winners will be announced on Friday 25 June 2021 at the East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, London. You can now book your tickets to attend here. The companies on the shortlist are as follows: Arboriculture Company Thompson Tree Services (Midlands) Ltd Glendale Managed Services Connick Tree Care Beechenlea Maintenance Ltd Advanced Tree Services Ltd Arbor Cultural Commercial Landscaping…
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RHS says 2021 set to see comfort planting and the rise of the ‘lazy lawn’
As the UK’s 30 million gardeners prepare to get back out on their plots this Easter weekend, the RHS has published its annual gardening predictions. Shaped by the events of the last year and with an estimated three million people newly green-fingered, the charity is predicting a return to quintessential garden design and a new make and make-do approach that will influence how plants are grown and nurtured. 2021 Gardening Predictions Comfort planting: Roses and hydrangeas won out in 2020 as gardeners turned to old, reliable favourites with big blooms and long flowering periods. However, that demand is set to…
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6 Egg-cellent Houseplants for Easter
After a long and difficult winter, it is clear we are all in desperate need of some colour and cheer – spring is finally here! Houseplants are a great way of decorating your home and table for Easter. They are an excellent gift for the season as Easter symbolises rebirth and hope – very much needed! Here is a selection from Ian Drummond that perfectly echo the occasion. 1 Lilium Longiflorum (Easter Lily) A beautiful plant for show at Easter. With their large white trumpet-shaped flowers that let out a wonderful fragrance, and the thick rigid stem covered in narrow…
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Obituary: Lindsay Smith of Readyhedge
Readyhedge is deeply saddened and shocked to announce that on 22nd March 2021 our beloved friend and salesman Lindsay Smith passed away. A huge hole has been left in our Readyhedge family and the horticultural world that cannot be replaced. He was incredibly knowledgeable and an asset to us for 12 years and to the horticultural industry for 41 years. A much-loved father, he was comical, kind, chatty and forever positive. His passion for horticulture was and always will be inspiring. He started his career at Pershore College of Horticulture in 1979 – 1980 followed by Blakedown Nursery. Lindsay then…
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Travis Perkins gender pay gap halved to 5% in latest report
Travis Perkins plc, which is the UK’s largest supplier of building materials and owner of the Travis Perkins builders’ merchants, Toolstation, Wickes and many specialist trade businesses, has published its latest pay gap report, which shows that the gender pay gap halved compared to the previous year. Across the Group the mean gender pay gap, which measures the average pay difference between Travis Perkins’ 28,000 male and female colleagues, narrowed to 5% in 2020 from 10% in 2019. The median improvement was even more significant and showed a nearly 8% improvement on the previous year to 3% in 2020 from 11%…
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Pro Landscaper April 2021
By the time our April issue reached readers, spring was well and truly here. We’re coming across random gatherings of daffodils on our weekend walks now and there are Easter eggs in abundance on supermarket shelves. There’s more to look forward to as well with the first stop on the lockdown roadmap approaching later in the month. Perhaps less exciting, depending on how your business has fared throughout the pandemic, is the end of the fiscal year in a few days. Looking ahead to this, we asked our UK Landscape Barometer contributors whether they are looking to increase staff salaries…
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Clive Betts MP joins Fields in Trust Board of Trustees
Senior Parliamentarian, Clive Betts MP, has joined green space charity Fields in Trust as a new Trustee and will take on the volunteer role with immediate effect. Clive Betts MP has served his home-town of Sheffield as an elected representative since 1976, first as a City Councillor and, since 1993, as a Member of Parliament. His longstanding Chairmanship of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, in particular the oversight of the 2016 Parliamentary Inquiry into public parks, puts him in a unique position to advance the work of Fields in Trust, protecting parks and green spaces for future generations.…
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UK sets new net zero targets
To keep the government’s commitment of achieving net zero green-house gas emissions by 2050 on track, it is estimated that around 350,000 new construction jobs will need to be created by 2028. The Building Skills for Net Zero report by the Construction Industry Training Board explores and discusses the need for green building specialists to reduce carbon emissions. This produces huge opportunity for the construction industry to meet new demands through the adaptation and development of new skills and services, driving a green job bloom. In turn this adds value to communities, people, and clients. The UK Green Building Council…
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CATCH UP – Women in Horticluture
In the latest instalment of Pro Landscaper TV, Pro Landscaper’s head of content Nina Mason interviewed four fabulous women regarding their experiences in the horticulture sector. Sarah Morgan, Susan Nicholas, Tamsin Westhorpe and Lynne Marcus made up the panel, put together by Lewis Normand. Each discussed their experiences as women in landscaping and in horticulture in general.
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idverde awarded prestigious Kensington and Chelsea ten-year contract
Grounds maintenance and landscape creation specialists, idverde, have been awarded a ten-year Grounds Maintenance, Sports and Bereavement Services contract with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that will achieve carbon neutrality in year one. By placing sustainability and the environment at its core, the parks management and landscape maintenance contract will see the latest electric technology deployed. Electric vans, mowers and hedge cutters will be in use across all parks, cemeteries and open spaces. During the new contract, which is estimated to save at least 28 tonnes of carbon, idverde has committed to raising all borough parks and open…
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Ground Control: becoming carbon neutral
We speak to director Kim Morrish and environmental lead Chris Bawtree about how Ground Control achieved the phenomenal goal of becoming carbon neutral four years ahead of schedule and what advice they have for companies looking to do the same. Firstly, congratulations, it’s a phenomenal achievement. What were the steps that Ground Control took to become carbon neutral? Chris: The starting point for us was making sure we were engaged with a credible organisation who could give us independent third-party guidance and assurance but that could also evaluate what we were doing. We chose The Carbon Trust. We started working…
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Horatio’s Garden launch blooming brilliant online raffle to raise vital funds
With a host of wonderful prizes donated by various leading companies, national charity Horatio’s Garden are hoping everyone will help them by getting involved in their Spring Raffle, running online with GalaBid from Monday 29th March to Monday 3rd May. The event was inspired by the charity’s wish to bring joy to as many people as possible, not only by offering everyone the chance to win some sumptuous prizes, but by simultaneously giving supporters old and new the opportunity to make a difference whilst staying safe at home. For the past decade, Horatio’s Garden have been creating and nurturing horticultural…
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Placemaking to begin for the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone
Exciting progress has been made for the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone project. North Norfolk District Council is thrilled to announce the appointment of Influence, chartered landscape architects who will be undertaking the townscaping element of the project along with expert partners. The team aim to provide sustainable solutions to urban planning and have extensive experience of working in conjunction with local authorities and communities to deliver landscaping and public realm services, including working on High Street Heritage Action Zones projects elsewhere in the UK. Shona Hatton, associate director at Influence, said: “High Street Heritage Action Zones are such a…
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