2021

GM0822 - Permitting parks, grounds and streetscene staff to wear shorts

A member authority is looking for information regarding whether or not other local authorities permit operational Parks, Grounds Maintenance and Street Scene staff to wear shorts in hot weather. They would be interested to receive any policy documents on this issue.

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GM0820 – Charge for holding boot camps in parks and greenspaces – 040621

A member authority is enquiring whether any authorities charge for the use of parks/green space for boot camps and other similar fitness groups where attendees pay for the session?

• If so, then how much do they charge?
• Is any income ring-fenced against the site the activity takes place on?

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GM0819 – Litter bin sizes in parks and open spaces – 040621

A member authority would be interested to know what size capacity litter bin do authorities use on parks and open spaces?

Does the size vary according to location e.g. urban parks, country parks etc?

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GM0818 – BBQ Regulations in parks – 030621

A member authority’s parks department does not permit BBQ’s on their land except at one of their larger Country Parks

Rules on the use of BBQ’s at this country park are a bit of a grey area and generally go under the umbrella of ‘as long as they are off the ground and disposed of sensibly’ they are tolerated.

The member authority would like to make their stance clearer and look at the feasibility of formalising the use of BBQ’s areas and looking at providing BBQ facilities.

They are therefore interested to know form other authorities:

• With regards to Parks, who permit BBQ’s on site and do you have any guidelines on their use?
• Do you provide any facilities for BBQ’s and if so do you make a charge?

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GM0817 - Play inspections regimes

This authority’s Grounds Maintenance Service are currently reviewing their playpark maintenance/inspection regimes, they would be grateful to hear from other member authorities in relation to:-

1. Are your playpark maintenance inspections undertaken by internal Services or external providers?
2. What are the frequencies of your inspections?
3. Does your authority commission an independent inspection of play equipment and how often?
4. Can you provide the name of any external company commissioned to inspect play equipment?
5. Would you be happy to provide details of any Service Level agreement for the inspection of play equipment?

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GM0816 – Risk assessments for allotments – 010621

A member authority is enquiring whether any Authorities who manage allotments would be happy to share their risk assessments?

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GM0815 – Gaining a ' value' for self-managed allotment sites – 010621

A member authority is currently undertaking an exercise to gain a ‘value’ for their self-managed allotment sites.

They are therefore enquiring as to any information other authorities may have with regards to any values achieved annually for self-managed sites and if possible a breakdown of how much is charged per acre?

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GM0812 – Procedures and pricing structures for hire of council land for events – 270521

A member Council is currently reviewing its procedures and pricing structure for the hire of council-owned or managed land for organised events, both small scale and large.

As a result of this, they are seeking assistance from other authorities on how land hire is currently managed within their organisation.

They would therefore like to ask the following questions: -

1. Do you use a manual procedure for the bookings or is it done electronically/online?
   • If it is manual are you able to share this documentation?
   • If it is an electronic system, what programme do you use?
2. Can you provide a copy of your pricing structure for land hire?
3. Do you charge for outside gym/boot camp training sessions for small numbers of attendees; and if so, do you use the same process? Can you advise the charges and the process if it is different?
4. What level of Public Liability Insurance is required; is it a fixed level or does it differ depending on the type and size of each event?
5. What is the cut off period that a booking must be fully completed (all documentation received and signed off) prior to the event before the application is cancelled?
6. Do you have any restrictions on the type of events that can be held on council-owned or managed land?

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GM0811 – Unauthorised BMX trails – 270521

A member authority has seen a surge in self-made, informal BMX tracks/courses on public land across the last 12 months.

At the last count, they have 9, some of them are quite substantial – significant earthworks etc.

The courses do not have approval or permission and they are not routinely inspected.

It would be useful to know how other authorities have dealt with similar issues – have they removed the courses, adopted the courses into the Council portfolio or simply ignored the issue.

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GM0809 – Grass mowing regimes designed to promote biodiversity – 250521

A member authority is interested to hear from other members on the subject of mowing.

In their view, mowing is one of the most time-consuming tasks, as grassland takes up a large proportion of space across their City. The accepted maintenance on amenity grass is to mow weekly, fortnightly or once every 3 weeks, however, as people are becoming more and more conscious of the negative environmental impact that grass cutting can have reducing the frequency and raising the height of cut will have a positive impact.

The enquiring authority would like to know if other councils make allowances for biodiversity and/or climate change in grassland maintenance and in what way?

1. How often do you cut your volume amenity grass?
2. Do you employ or are you testing alternative grass maintenance options, methods or approaches on your urban amenity grassland? If yes what are they?
3. Do your alternative mowing regimes produce a significant variation in the frequency of cuts across grass typology?

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GM0807 – Play park inspections – 190521

This local authority would be grateful to hear from other member authorities with regards to play park inspections, specifically:-

1. How often do you carry out inspections of play park equipment within your area?
2. What is your timescales for minor and major repairs?

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GM0807 – Play park inspections –  Additional report

1. What level of training/competence do the individuals carrying out the inspections have?
2. Do you engage with an independent inspection contractor for annual inspections?

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GM0805 – Resuming Park Runs – 140521

A member authority is looking to resume Park Runs, and they would be interested to know:

• Are any members working towards allowing Parkrun back?
• Does anyone have any idea when their parkrun events might safely recommence in the future?
• What are members putting in place to ensure Parkrun is Covid safe when it returns?

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GM0804 - Designing natural play areas

A member authority is requesting information on ‘Natural Play’ and in particular around standard design, plus indicative cost per item for installation etc.

Any information on schemes, costs or designs would be gratefully received.

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GM0803 – Local authority charges for sport pitches

A member authority is looking for information regarding how other Local Authorities charge for using Football (or all Sports Pitches), in particular:

• Is there a charge for training, if so is this per club, per team or an annual fee
• Is there a charge for match playing. Is this made even if any game is called off
• Is there any other charge that is made, i.e. annual renovations, litter collecting

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GM0802 – Battery-powered machinery within grounds maintenance – 260421

This authority’s Grounds Maintenance Service are currently looking at options to replace their existing petrol-powered hand machinery with battery-powered machines and are keen to hear from others that have done similar. In particular:

1. Have/ are you replacing petrol-powered grounds maintenance hand machinery with battery-powered?
2. What specific tools have/ are being replaced (e.g. strimmers, hand-mowers, etc.)?
3. What battery charging problems have been encountered, and what were the solutions?
4. Do you have any information on costs/benefits which can be shared?

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GM0801 - Power washing surfaces in parks – 200421

A member authority would like to know how other Councils deal with pressure washed areas in parks ( health and safety, detergent use, training of operatives, suitability of surfaces etc.)

They would also be interested to know if any Councils have had any problems with water residue and silt being left behind after pressure washing and found any solutions to the problem?

If so what were they?

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GM0800 - Dealing with requests to erect items such as benches, outdoor gyms etc. on open spaces – 200421

A member authority is enquiring as to how do colleagues deal with requests, from Town & Community councils or Volunteer Groups, to erect items on land owned by the authority.

These may include: planters or benches on verges or open spaces but also larger items such as outdoor gyms and fenced dog exercise areas on larger open spaces or recreational playing fields.

Does your authority have specific contracts or agreements put in place to cover future responsibilities and maintenance costs and as part of this does your authority involve Legal Services colleagues in drawing these contracts or agreements?

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GM0799 – People counters in parks and greenspaces – 130421

A member authority would like to hear from any local authorities that currently use people counters in parks and greenspaces. Specifically, they would like to know:

• What people counters they use and who the supplier is
• If they download the data remotely or go to the site to download
• Would they recommend the product and have they encountered any problems
• How much did the people counters they use cost
• How long have they been in use

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GM0797 - Tree inspection frequencies – 060421

A member authority is looking for details on tree inspection frequency and would therefore be grateful for any information on how frequently other authorities carry out tree inspections.

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GM0797 - Fees and charges for events on council-owned open spaces - 220321

A member authority is looking into fees and charges for the use of council-owned open spaces for events.

They would like to know if other authorities charge event organisers for the use of council-owned open spaces for events?

If yes, would it be possible to provide a copy of their schedule of fees and charges?

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GM0796 – Find and fix regime for childrens play areas - 120321

A member Council is in the process of reviewing service standards which they have with their contractor, and are considering implementing a new outcome-based ‘find and fix’ regime element of the contract for children’s play areas rather than the current approach which involves safety inspectors routinely visiting, resulting in defects identification, purchase orders being raised and a separate team then implementing the works.

The member authority believes that in most instances a single ‘find and fix’ visit will be more efficient.

The inquiring authority is therefore keen to know if other local authorities have followed this route, and if so,

• Has it proved successful?
• What were the pros and cons which would be worthwhile sharing and
• Whether they have developed any relevant KPIs for this which they can review.

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GM0795 - Weed killing policies and integrated weed control strategies – 010321

This local authority is in the process of developing their weed killing policy and integrated weed control strategy and would therefore like to ask other member authorities if they would be happy to share copies of these documents?

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GM0794 - Fees and charges relating to filming in council open spaces - 010321

A member authority is enquiring if other local authorities would provide copies of their fees and charges in respect of filming requests on council open spaces, and also whether they employ a tiered approach to charging depending on e.g. the scale of production and location. 

It would also be helpful if authorities could provide copies of template hire permits for filming and a set of standards, particularly in relation to required insurances, site set-up, and reinstatement of ground.

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GM0791– Responsibility for carrying out inspections and maintaining roads and pathways in parks – 180221

APSE has received a request for information regarding which department within the local authority has responsibility for inspecting and maintaining pathways and roads within parks.

APSE would also be interested to know whether there is any criteria for how often pathways and roads are inspected (vehicle numbers, footfall etc.). and the length of time quoted for repairs to be undertaken dependent upon inspection results.

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GM0790 - Tree Planting Programme Management Templates - 040221

This APSE member council is coordinating a ground-breaking ‘One Million Trees Programme’ and is undertaking an internal review to identify opportunities to utilise assets and services to support the initiative. This may include activity such as:-

• Additional tree planting in parks
• Potential use of vacant land
• Development of tree nurseries
• Expansion of community gardens
• Additional support for existing woodland management
• Working with external partners

They are looking at the use of land in the context of supporting local biodiversity in addition to the tree planting, so for example, there are discussions about lands that currently have conacre/grazing agreements with local farmers. They have also agreed to develop a site suitability process and criteria.

They would therefore like to ask other APSE member councils if you have been through a similar process in terms of tree planting and biodiversity programmes, and in which case, are you able to share any management templates for the delivery and monitoring of the programme to inform the development of a similar template within this member council.

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GM0789 - Bonfires on allotment sites – 040221

A member authority is enquiring as to whether your authority allows bonfire on your allotment sites.

They are particularly interested to know :

• Do you allow bonfires on your allotments Yes /No
  • If yes is there a restriction on when they can take place?
  • If No, how do allotment holders deal with non-compostable garden waste
• Have you a policy that covers bonfires on allotments. If yes could you provide the relevant wording
• Since the start of the pandemic have you had any enquiries of concerns from the effect of bonfire smoke?
• How big an issue are bonfires on allotments in terms of complaints. Very Big, Big, Some complaints, Few complaints, Not an issue

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GM0788 - Hedge Trimmer Accidents – 040221

?This local authority has recently had a couple of incidents where operatives have injured their leg while using hedge trimmers. Previous attempts to address this with PPE have not really been successful.

1. Is this common with other authorities?
2. What measures have they put in place to prevent these incidents?

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GM0787 - Play Policies – 290121

A member authority is enquiring if there are any authorities that will be willing to share any Play Policies they may have developed.

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GM0786 - Grounds maintenance standard minute values - 250121

A member authority uses standard minutes as the basis to calculate rates for various parks and open space operations.

They would like to hear from member authorities that use alternative approaches, or are thinking of using alternatives to standard minutes, in particular:

• What alternatives are being used/ or are in development?
• What are seen as the advantages/disadvantages of changing from standard minutes to the alternative?
• What, if any, savings have been enabled or are anticipated?"

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GM0785 - Unique risk assessments for playgrounds in light of COVID requirements – 180121

A member authority has raised the following query,

Government guidance states that playgrounds can remain open.  Additionally, it states that owners need to consider the unique make-up of each playground when conducting a risk assessment.  Failure to complete a risk assessment that takes account of COVID-19, or completing a risk assessment but failing to put in place sufficient measures to manage the risk of COVID-19, could constitute a breach of health and safety law.  Under a section called ‘potential measures to facilitate social distancing,’ it suggests that (if an enclosed area) owners and operators should identify an advisory limit on the maximum number of users able to use a playground or outdoor gym area at any one time and use signs to communicate this.

Are local authorities who manage multiple playgrounds undertaking unique risk assessments for each site, or are they undertaking an overarching assessment?

Are local authorities indicating an advisory limit?  And if so, how are they calculating this limit?

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GM0784 - Allotment holders installing domestic CCTV/surveillance cameras on-site to prevent theft – 180121

A member authority has been approached by some allotment holders that wish to install domestic CCTV/surveillance cameras on their allotment plots to help protect against thefts. 

The enquiring authority would therefore like to know from other authorities:

• Do any member organisations allow allotment tenants to use domestic CCTV on their plots?
• If they do, can they share their policy and any systems that they have in place for ensuring that tenants follow data protection law (and any other legal guidelines)
• If members do allow tenants to use domestic CCTV or have sites with CCTV have they found the measures to be a useful deterrence against theft?

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GM0783 - Opening and locking of park gates - 180121

A member authority is enquiring as to whether any other council has any information on the opening and locking of parks in England, in particular whether anyone knows if there is an industry standard? 

They would also like to know if any council allows members of the public to lock gates and if so what are the pros and cons etc.

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GM0782 - Disposal of derelict allotment site – 060121

A member authority has a derelict allotment site and need to consult on its future, ensuring that the process will meet the needs of the Secretary of State.

Are there any members who have gone through an allotment site disposal able to share their consultation plan, or offer other advice that will assist us in this work?"

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GM0781 - Tree software – 060121

A member authority is enquiring whether any other council would be willing to share  any information they may have on software and technology that they are using for conducting tree surveys, and the mapping of the surveys. The enquiring authority is currently using a paper system, excel files, and map info 17.

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GM0780 - Canada Geese - 060121

A member Council have a Park in the city where there is a small pond that is frequently visited by Canada Geese and Ducks.  Whilst this attracts families with youngsters to feed the wildlife it also causes an enormous amount of faeces, particularly from the Canada Geese that drop in. 

With a thick covering over the waterside footpaths this makes the whole area very slippery, it also extends beyond the wet areas to the grassed parkland and in particular the sports pitches.  Would you be aware of any other local authorities that have experienced a similar issue and if / how they may have overcome this problem?

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GM0776 - Developing allotment strategies - 271120

A member authority is interested to know about other local authorities allotment strategies.

In particular:

• What research was undertaken before embarking on a strategy document and whether local authorities have examples they would be willing to share.
• Would local authorities be willing to share copies of allotment strategies?

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GM0774 - Giant Redwood trees - 290121

A member authority is enquiring whether any other authorities, as part of their managed tree stock, have Giant Redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum) located within a highway context – for example as part of a roadside verge. 

Do these trees have any statutory designations (such as Tree Preservation Orders) and have there been any previous insurance claims from nearby residences for subsidence issues?

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GM0768 - Methods and frequency of verge cutting on single track rural roads - 270121

In particular they are interested to know when cutting vegetation on highway verges on single carriageway rural roads:

• What machinery (e.g. tractor + sidearm, ride-on) is used?
• What signs/markings (e.g. Chapter 8, light arrow) do the machines themselves display?
• What traffic management method (e.g. basic signing, stop/go, road closure) is used for each scenario (high speed / low speed)?
• At what times of day (day shift/night shift) are the works undertaken in each scenario (high speed / low speed)?
• How many cuts per year are undertaken?
• At what times of year are the cuts undertaken?
• Is any manual trimming (strimmer) undertaken alongside the mechanical process?"

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GM0767 - Alternatives to glyphosate - the latest update from local authorities - 270121

A member authority is enquiring whether any local authority has found what they deem to be a cost effective alternative to Glyphosate products?

APSE is aware that many local authorities have been trialling alternatives over the last few years but feels it may be worthwhile to gain the latest information on this subject.

Therefore would members be willing to share any  information on the success or failure of particular trials carried out on alternative methods?"