Grass Cutting

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Fri 14 Nov, 2008 10:21 am

As to cutting collection. Council grass cutting collection has never happened. However, when the council used to do it they used to cut the grass regularly so the cuttings were'nt a problem

Lilysmum · Post by **Lilysmum** » Wed 19 Nov, 2008 5:30 pm

Lilysmum wrote: Si wrote: This is the damage the grass cutters did to my great grandparents' grave in New Wortley cemetery. I have just had a meeting at Guiseley cemetary with two men from the cemetries dept. and my local councillor regarding the damage that has been done to graves in Yeadon and Guiseley cemetaries by grasscutting machines leaving them in a similar state to the one shown in Si's photo.I had photos taken while the grasscutters were in action which showed the mess they are making of the place with all the grass churned up and mud all over the paths,so they had to agree that it was in an appaling state. As a result they are going to repair the damaged graves and take steps to make sure that the men who cut the grass treat the place with more respect. Went to Yeadon cemetery today to point out our family grave which has been flattened by the grasscutters to the man in charge of doing the repairs. It is being done TODAY! and so are six others. It just shows what a bit(!) of badgering can do. So to Si and others who's family graves are getting trashed,contact the cemeteries dept and ask for a meeting to discuss your concerns.

Brandy · Post by **Brandy** » Wed 19 Nov, 2008 5:48 pm

Lilysmum wrote: Lilysmum wrote: Si wrote: This is the damage the grass cutters did to my great grandparents' grave in New Wortley cemetery. I have just had a meeting at Guiseley cemetary with two men from the cemetries dept. and my local councillor regarding the damage that has been done to graves in Yeadon and Guiseley cemetaries by grasscutting machines leaving them in a similar state to the one shown in Si's photo.I had photos taken while the grasscutters were in action which showed the mess they are making of the place with all the grass churned up and mud all over the paths,so they had to agree that it was in an appaling state. As a result they are going to repair the damaged graves and take steps to make sure that the men who cut the grass treat the place with more respect. Went to Yeadon cemetery today to point out our family grave which has been flattened by the grasscutters to the man in charge of doing the repairs. It is being done TODAY! and so are six others. It just shows what a bit(!) of badgering can do. So to Si and others who's family graves are getting trashed,contact the cemeteries dept and ask for a meeting to discuss your concerns. RESULT! nice one Lillysmum

Lilysmum · Post by **Lilysmum** » Sat 06 Dec, 2008 8:51 pm

Has anyone else seen the front page story of todays EP. Glendale were out cutting (or attempting to) the grass verges on thursday despite the thick layer of snow. A council spokesman said it had been a mistake!! Is that an understatement or what?

Post by **chameleon** » Sat 06 Dec, 2008 9:06 pm

Lilysmum wrote: Has anyone else seen the front page story of todays EP. Glendale were out cutting (or attempting to) the grass verges on thursday despite the thick layer of snow. A council spokesman said it had been a mistake!! Is that an understatement or what? But what did Glendale say for themselves I wonder? After all, they work in their own right and are answerable themselves for mistakes, or as I'm sure many would term this, stupidity.If this is indicative of the Company's understanding of what is practical and what it not, it rather begs the question of how they perceive their duties and responsibilities - does this not raise a few suspicions with the Contractor's Masters?

Leeds-lad · Post by **Leeds-lad** » Sat 06 Dec, 2008 9:09 pm

Lilysmum wrote: Has anyone else seen the front page story of todays EP. Glendale were out cutting (or attempting to) the grass verges on thursday despite the thick layer of snow. A council spokesman said it had been a mistake!! Is that an understatement or what? It also says in the article that these men should be given shovels and made to shift snow.I also saw other Glendale contractors on Spen Lane attempting to cut grass and having a right laugh doing skids.These are NOT Council employees and to be honest if they act like that with total lack of commonsense they should not even be put in charge of a shovel.I might also add that in severe weather conditions such as snow/ ice the Parks Dept sent their men and women clearing footpaths/shopping centres and they used to be a tremendous help to the Highways Dept, sadly many of them were finished when Glendale won the contract and the Highways Dept don't have that extra help now.

bramley13 · Post by **bramley13** » Sun 07 Dec, 2008 4:48 pm

glendale are just a firm that got a contract, i used to work for a company called the carlise cleaning group they got the contract to clean the transpennine express trains.there website is the same as glendales(we do this and that ect)i was an onboard cleaner rubbish collecter, but it was good fun.problem was when carlise got the contact, one thing happened, we never got any bags to put the rubbish in. its all to do with the top men these contracts, they know its a [edited for content] job getting done,but knowones botherd.ive given up complaing now.glendale never replies to my email. the council sent a letter back to me with names and phone numbers. was promised a visit from the council about the situation, they never came.its all to do with money and back handers to keep peeps quite

Post by **chameleon** » Sun 07 Dec, 2008 6:17 pm

bramley13 wrote: glendale are just a firm that got a contract, i used to work for a company called the carlise cleaning group they got the contract to clean the transpennine express trains.there website is the same as glendales(we do this and that ect)i was an onboard cleaner rubbish collecter, but it was good fun.problem was when carlise got the contact, one thing happened, we never got any bags to put the rubbish in. its all to do with the top men these contracts, they know its a [edited for content] job getting done,but knowones botherd.ive given up complaing now.glendale never replies to my email. the council sent a letter back to me with names and phone numbers. was promised a visit from the council about the situation, they never came.its all to do with money and back handers to keep peeps quite Brandy - I see contacting Glendale as a secondary approach and that the Council are encouraging people to make that contact tather than addressing the issues directly - put another way, passing the buck.It is to the Council that we pay our dues, the Council exist to provide and manage the services which are needed, that they rely upon third party contractors is irrelevant. They have the responibility to ensure services are provided, that services are fit for purpose, work is to the satandard required and that there is value for our money and that work is i=undertaken in a responsible manner, ensuring preservation, not desruction of assets.Again, if the relevant Department will not accept that there is a substandard provision or refuse to act to correct matters, then our elected Councilors are the people who should be told and asked to seek an explanation. Somewhere, these contracts will be audited - and questions surely asked then too.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Sun 07 Dec, 2008 6:46 pm

Isn't this the inherent problem with putting things out to tender?The cheapest bid gets the job. Not the bid giving best quality, or even best value for money, but the cheapest bid.The only way they can do it cheaper than anyone else is to either employ a supremely motivated, highly skilled staff who are prepared to work for next to nothing, or they cut corners.The story in the YEP went on to say (to the effect) that this company claim that they HAVE to cut the grass if it's due, unless the council tell them not to, regardless of what common sense tells them.Complaints are usually best directed to your ward councillor, a list of which (along with phone numbers and e-mail addresses) can be found on the council website www.leeds.gov.ukThis avoids things getting "lost" within the system and ensure someone accountable is following things up....

Bramley4woods · Post by **Bramley4woods** » Sun 07 Dec, 2008 7:03 pm

[quotenick="raveydavey"]Isn't this the inherent problem with putting things out to tender?The cheapest bid gets the job. Not the bid giving best quality, or even best value for money, but the cheapest bid.The only way they can do it cheaper than anyone else is to either employ a supremely motivated, highly skilled staff who are prepared to work for next to nothing, or they cut corners.The trouble with putting putting things out to tender is that they do it to save money, they then employ someone to administer the tender process. This costs money itself and these people have to justify their existence.At work we've even had commercial companies getting involved administering public tenders saying they'll save the users 25%, but they want to make 25% themselves. So the income which is available to pay for blokes doing the work in the field is down 50%. As a result not enough of them can be employed to do the job properly, and quality goes down. Typically the people in the public authourity who deal with the tendering are young girls from the local Poly with arts degrees and zero knowledge / experience of the business, only stay 9-18 months before they move on, and in the meantime they've destroyed a way of working that's taken 10 - 15 years to establish.They say they've saved 25% off for the public purse but the job no longer gets done properly.