Bankeyfields: Openspace maintenance contract (£10k a year, is it worth it) - FOI request now out of date

Can we not look at getting our own maintenance company do the work????

If there is a contract in place for the maintenance and up keep of grass and fences on the open space surely we should be covered and the work carried out as stated within the contract. Does anyone know who the contractor is or were a copy of the contract can be found, so if need be legal advice can be sort.

I have logged a call with the council help line requesting the openspce be mowed. Suggest everyone does the same.

Matt could you give Megan a call see if she can get something done ?

the Grange open park land has had abit of short back and sides cut today, upto 4 groundsmen have cut the grass, with mowers, trimmed rough areas , etc because according to a neigbour there is going to be abit of a fair here on the 26th June.
so i would say that part of the 10k went on this today.
it all looks well mantained now.

Perhaps we should have a bogus fun day on the open-space and inform the council that the grass needs cutting. If the grass gets any longer they will need a combined harvester to cut it not a mower.

bj-dj61 thats a good idea.
what about having a funday for real-
a community day where you all re-paint the planes on the banks, they were such a nice idea when they were done and now when i pass them they look very sorry for themselves.
perhaps get the Reginald Mitchell society involved too to add to the day. the area that you live in is in memory of this great man .
and the younger generation could be reminded of his great invention ,now and again instead of saying why are the planes cut into the bank side, they will be able to say we know about the planes .

invite the lord mayor, newpaper reporters , radio stoke to the day too so that would be another reason for the council to tidy up the area.

just an idea.

Stoke-on-Trent Council reply to who manages the contract to cut the grass

16 July 2010

Dear Mr Burke

Your request for information on Bankeyfields Estate

We have now considered your request for information and a copy of the
information is below.

The maintenance of the site is now included in the Council's overall
grounds and cleansing service and so will continue to be maintained along
with the City's normal grounds maintenance service. To facilitate this,
the commuted sum from the developers has now been received into the
Council's budget.

If you have any queries about this email, please do not hesitate to
contact me.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cost_and_terms_of_bankeyfields_o#i...

This only is a part answer as they have not stated how much the commuted sum is and what do they define as normal maintainance. If it was an outside contractor doing it there would be full details of what work was to be carried out. We need to know who made the descision on our behalf and are we going to get value for money.

I'm going to flesh these questions out, but I'll be submitting a new Freedom of Information request to the council again for these following questions.

How much money was supplied to develop the openspace/park
• Because there was a 8 year delay in building the openspace, what happened to the interest?
• Once the park was complete the old NHW (previous to Steve and my NHW) reported that there was a 10 year maintenance contract to be paid from the remaining 106 monies.
• Why in the 3rd year of the park's life are we now told (on monday by Cllr Ryan) there is no money left?

I'll also be adding Steve's above questions to the request. Does anyone else have anything they can add to this.

a few thoughts, was a contract ever signed off, or did 106 monies go straight into central council pot?

possible questions

breakdown of how all 106 monies was spent, and breakdown on how all funding for the park and maintenance was spent?

If the council have taken over, the neighbourhood office should be able to provide the schedule for maintenance, as it is no longer a central service. which breaks down maintenance into verges, open space, parks etc.

Of course if neighbourhood office believed maintenance was under a seperate contract, it may have not be included in their programme, also if the area is open space the council may only cut grass 2ft each side of footpaths.

good luck

The paddock was cut yesterday, and I didn't realise until the grass was gone how much better visibility was when you come down John Rhodes Way towards the mini round about.

according to councill budget report there is £5,000 left

http://bit.ly/9lO26d

At least Dick Turpin wore a mask !!!!. I hope some investigative journalist is reading this. Where is Michael McIntyre when you need him.

A quick update for anyone who wasn't at the meeting the other week, but the council representatives stated at the meeting that the money given to the council for the maintenance of the park was NOT for 10 years, but for life (don't know why we other paying our rates) and that we aren't entitled to £10k worth of work each year.

Anyway, it's the 1st of September today so we should (don't hold your breath) be getting the answers to our questions.

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cost_and_terms_of_bankeyfields_o#o...

Also if you look at the above page, you will see the original question asked (we've asked two sets now, to try and get answers) and the reply which was inadequately answered.

Odds on getting some useful information back?

P.S PM me with your contact details if any one would like to be contacted by The Sentinel about this matter

Please find the reply from Stoke on Trent City Council to the Residents Association's Freedom of Information request.

Your request for information on Bankeyfields

We have now considered your request for information and a copy of the information is below.

1) What was the total amount of monies which Wilcon Homes (Wilson Connolly) and Barratt Homes originally placed within the section 106 funds for use in the design and development of the Bankeyfields open space site?
Wilcon Homes paid a total of £415,000 and Barratt Homes £2,000 in accordance with their obligations under the terms of the section 106 agreement.

2) What additional funds were made available to the project due to interest payments during the time which the Bankeyfields open space project was delayed?
£82,242 interest accrued.

3) What were the specifications/terms laid down under the Bankeyfields open space maintenance contract for the years 2008/2009 and 2010?
A scheme of improvements to the Bankeyfields Public Open Space (POS) and creation of the Play Area was prepared by Landscape Development at Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The scheme was tendered and awarded to County Landscape Development, a private contractor. As well as the implementation of the play area and POS improvements, the contract included a 12 months maintenance period.

The private contractors maintenance responsibility included a number of specified visits for grass cutting, plant bed maintenance and litter clearance. The scheme also included a 12 months defects liability period for all contracted improvement works and a 24 months defects liability period for heavy standard trees.

4) Under the Bankeyfields maintenance contract how many years was the contractor required to carry out the maintenance of the site?
Under the terms of the tendered contract, the private Contractor maintained the site for 12 months from date of Practical Completion. A meeting with Play Services and the Area Implementation Team (AIT) to hand over the Play Area was carried out when Play Area construction was complete. A meeting to hand over the POS site was carried out with the AIT at the end of the private contractor's maintenance period of 12 months.

5) When did the Bankeyfields open space maintenance contract start?
The private Contractor's 12 month maintenance period commenced 4 June 2008.

6) Which company/companies were awarded the maintenance contract in the years prior to the council taking over the maintenance of the Bankeyfields open space site in 2010?
As detailed above, County Landscape Development were awarded the tender for the scheme. Part of the site and maintenance responsibility was handed over to the City Council to maintain on 4 June 2008 and this included the
play area, sports court, emptying of litter bins, emptying of dog bins, and cutting of grass to the left of John Rhodes Way. The Contractor maintained the remainder of the site for 12 months and following completion of defects the scheme was eventually handed over to the City Council on 10 August 2009.

7) We have been informed that the budget for the Bankeyfields open space maintenance contract was approximately £110,000, this was deemed enough monies for a 10 year rolling maintenance program, we have now been informed that this money have been exhausted. Please supply details of how these monies have been exhausted between April 2008 and July 2010?
Following the completion of the capital works, which cost £366,750, £132,492 remained in the Section 106  account. The maintenance of the site is not a discrete operation and is part of the overall maintenance of all
the City Council's parks and open spaces. Therefore to facilitate the maintenance of this site and to ensure that the site is maintained in perpetuity (beyond the 10 years maintenance agreement) this sum has been incorporated into the City Council's Parks and Grounds Maintenance budgets on an ongoing basis.

8) How much of the original £110,000 Bankeyfields open space maintenance budget is left?
Following the completion of the capital works, which cost £366,750, £132,492 remained in the Section 106 account. The maintenance of the site is not a discrete operation and is part of the overall maintenance of all the City Council's parks and open spaces. Therefore to facilitate the maintenance of this site and to ensure that the site is maintained in perpetuity (beyond the 10 years maintenance agreement) this sum has been incorporated into the City Council's Parks and Grounds Maintenance budgets on an ongoing basis.

9) After the design / build program for the Bankeyfields open space development was completed, how much of the project monies were left for the maintenance of the site?
Following the completion of the capital works, which cost £366,750, £132,492 remained in the Section 106 account. The maintenance of the site is not a discrete operation and is part of the overall maintenance of all
the City Council's parks and open spaces. Therefore to facilitate the maintenance of this site and to ensure that the site is maintained in perpetuity (beyond the 10 years maintenance agreement) this sum has been incorporated into the City Council's Parks and Grounds Maintenance budgets on an ongoing basis.

10) Please supply tendered costs versus actual invoiced costs for all elements of the Bankeyfields open space design and build?
The tendered price for Bankeyfields Public Open Space Improvements (including the play area and 12 months maintenance) was £261,110. The final cost of the capital scheme, including contract preparation, administration of the play area and POS improvements was £366,750.

11) Please supply all invoices for additional costs outside that of the main Bankeyfields open space maintenance contract complete with the justification for the costs and the name of the council official who approved the contractor to carry out the work?
Stoke-on-Trent City Council does not hold any information on additional costs outside of the main Bankeyfields open space maintenance contract.

Please feel free to comment on the above reply.