Following a barrage of complaints, including damage to a grave, Cabinet Member Julian Gutteridge has demanded improvements from contractor Glendale.
The contract, which was awarded by Labour in 2019 for 5 years is something which the Conservatives have inherited. However, Glendale will now only be paid on results – for work they have done and which they can show has been done.
Commenting Cllr Julian Gutteridge, Portfolio Holder for Health and Environment, which overseas Glendale said:
“As Cabinet Member overseeing Glendale, I am following up complaints about poor standards personally. What we have seen in some locations recently is rightly not up to standard.
“We have also recently taken on two new Council Officers to monitor Glendale and their performance. Their sole job will be to ensure that Glendale maintain our Borough to the standards we all expect.
“To provide some context we have a contract inherited from Labour as well as 3.1 million Square Meters of grass to cut, 3.8 million Square Meters of ground to litter pick, and 120,000 Square Meters of shrub beds to maintain.”
Commenting Cllr Kris Wilson, Leader of the Council said:
“Since taking the reins a month ago it is clear that this Council is in a worse state than anybody could have imagined. From Labour’s budget black holes to contractors who do not perform as the public would want.
“We will continue to work hard to deliver the vision, ambition and aspiration which our Borough so desperately needs. But nobody should be in any doubt about the severity of the situation, nearly half a century of Labour mismanagement and long length contracts cannot be fixed overnight.”
In the meantime, residents are also asked to log any complaints by email to: [email protected]
You’ll be emailed back with a reference number and should be provided updates on your complaint. We can also monitor statistics generated from complaints logged and use this for our program of continuous improvement.
