Play park grass row sees councillor take matters into his own hands

Councillor Edward Kirk cut the grass at the Downside Park play area in Trowbridge at the weekend but was forced to give up cutting the long grass at the Seymour play area when his mower stopped working.

The Tory decided to take action after fielding numerous enquiries from locals asking when the grass was going to be mowed by Lib Dem-led Trowbridge Town Council.

Cllr Edward Kirk, who has had numerous enquiries on when the grass in the Downside Park Play area was ever likely to be mowed, decided to cut it himself. Photo: Trevor Porter 69896-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

He said: “Regrettably, Trowbridge Town Council are unable to cope with the grass cutting after agreeing to take it over from Wiltshire Council in April.

“Even though as councillors we have reduced the grass cutting workload this year, it has increased again because of our areas set aside for No Mow May.  

“I know our Trowbridge Town Council grounds team are under immense pressure and appreciate that they are trying to do the impossible with the resources available to them and it doesn’t help that two members of staff are on holiday leave.

“I have suggested that our town council staff contracts, should be similar to commercial contracts, where staff cannot take annual leave during the busy period, but apparently we can’t do this.

“The staffing issue would not be one for the town council to worry about if the job was contracted out – the job would be done to the required standard or the contractor wouldn’t get paid.

“I thought my suggestion to have commercial competitive bids for the grounds service against the proposed in-house option to ensure best service/value was passed at full council, but it appears to have been ignored anyway.

“You only have to look at Wiltshire Council and some housing associations with their grounds services – they are much large organisations and would have huge economies of scale but they use contractors.

“Of course, the staff cost can be lower with contractors because the pension contribution is only three per cent as opposed to 19 per cent, plus there is added flexibility in work contracts.

“It is all well and good for Trowbridge Town Council to want the grandeur of expanding its empire in saying they didn’t want the £100,000s in grounds services funded by Wiltshire Council, but our residents and in particular children are the ones suffering with unusable play areas and playing fields.

“In residential areas, like Downside Park, children rely on being able to use the play areas or playing field they have nowhere else to go.”

Overgrown grass at the Downside Park play area. Photo: Trevor Porter 69896-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Lib Dem Trowbridge Town Council leader Cllr Stewart Palmen responded to the claims.

He said: “Trowbridge Town Council have only recently taken over these services and it is taking a little while to work out the best schedules for mowing different areas during the peak grass growing seasons.

“The town council decided to take these services in house and employ its own staff as it offers a lot more flexibility than contracting them out to a third party.

“For instance, if there is a hot period of no grass growth during the summer or during the winter when there is no grass growth then the staff can be used for other tasks around the town. With a contractor that is not the case as the contracts end up being too prescriptive.

“We also do think it is important that these are decent jobs with pensions etc, as it is beneficial for society as a whole and promotes job loyalty.

“Cllr Kirk also fails to mention how much cleaner the town centre, and other areas are now they are properly cared for. The service transfer has been worth every penny!"