Grounds Maintenance Update

We know the condition of the grounds on the estate has been frustrating, so we wanted to give everyone a proper update on why it has taken longer than expected to get the new contractor in place.

This was not a normal annual contractor renewal. Our previous grounds maintenance contractor unexpectedly ended their service shortly before a scheduled visit was due, which meant we had to source and appoint a replacement at relatively short notice.

Unfortunately, what followed was, in our view, an inadequate tender process. This also coincided with periods of leave within LSH, which meant actions that should have been progressed much sooner were delayed.

Once suitable options were finally provided, we reviewed them promptly and selected Petrichor Grounds Maintenance through the appropriate tender process. Petrichor submitted a very competitive tender and represented good value for residents. Tom, who runs the company, is also a resident on the estate, which is an additional benefit as he has a genuine interest in seeing the estate maintained properly.

However, it was only after Petrichor had been selected that LSH informed us they could not be appointed until Tom had obtained SafeContractor accreditation. This requirement had not been communicated to the Board of Resident Directors or Petrichor at the start of the tender process.

As LSH were administering the tender and contractor onboarding process, we would reasonably have expected any mandatory accreditation requirement to have been identified before tenders were sought, rather than after a contractor had already been selected.

Petrichor immediately began the expedited accreditation process. We had been advised this was intended to be a 24-hour turnaround and it was treated as a priority, but unfortunately the overall accreditation and onboarding process still took around three weeks.

During this period, we raised a formal complaint with LSH about how the process had been handled. LSH have acknowledged shortcomings in their handling of the matter.

The result is that the estate has gone without proper grounds maintenance for much longer than should have been necessary. We want to be clear that this has not been because we delayed making any decisions. We have continued to push the process throughout and have done everything we reasonably could to get a permanent replacement contractor in place as quickly as possible.

The good news is that Petrichor should now be out on the estate this week. Given how long some areas have gone without attention, it will not be possible to bring everything back up to standard in a single visit. The immediate priority will be to get the estate back under control and then bring it back to the standard we all expect as quickly as possible.

We appreciate everyone’s patience while this has been resolved and completely understand the frustration with how long it has taken.

If you want to make a difference and have your voice heard, please come and join the Board of volunteer Resident Directors.