We’re still not where we want to be yet, but you should have started to see improvements now.
There are a couple of things we've been sorting out over the past few weeks. Read on for information on:
- Missed areas
- Grass clippings
- Future of the contract
If you would like to share your thoughts on our service, we’re planning a consultation this autumn.
You can register your interest below if you haven’t done so already.
Future of the service
We're looking ahead. We very much want to make sure this doesn't happen for a third year.
The rest of this year:
- Our temporary subcontractors, Lawn Enforcement, will keep going and cover all lawns over Sept and Oct.
- Broxbourne Council will continue cutting verges.
- Our official contractor, Nurture (formerly CGM), will not be cutting the grass for the rest of the season.
Next year:
We are currently addressing Nurture's performance issues from this year and last year. This is a formal process, and we're exploring all possible options to improve our service for next year. You'll find out more during our consultation.
Missed areas
Some of you have told us that areas have been missed. We’re very sorry about this.
We have spoken to our subcontractors, and there are a couple of reasons why this happened:
- Issues with access - troubles getting to some areas. For example, when large machines have struggled to reach the back of some properties the contractors have had to go away and come back with different equipment.
- Learning curve - the subcontractors we're using are new, so they weren't as familiar with our estates. Some areas have been missed accidently, and they're going back to sort it out.
If your area has been missed, please continue to let us know so we can alert the subcontractors and ensure this gets done as quickly as possible for you.
Grass clippings
In recent years it's become difficult to find companies who can cut and pick up the grass clippings (called a ‘box cut’). This is because it takes a lot longer.
Even Broxbourne Council - who are covering verges for us - cannot do a 'cut and pick up'.
Our priority was to get the grass cut asap - and regularly. So we're not having the grass clippings picked up at the moment.
We appreciate you're used to a different service and things would've have looked less tidy than we'd want, especially when the grass clippings were very long. We're sorry about this. The standard of service in the future one of the things we'll be looking at in the consultation - click here to be involved.
Credit
If your grass is cut through B3Living (rather than a management company), then you should have received a letter from us at the end of July about credit on your account.
- Your credit covers from Mon 1 April – Sun 2 June 2024.
- This is 9 weeks in total.
- Your credit is your weekly charge for grass cutting x 9.
Some customers have asked why this is different to their overall service charge.
This credit just relates to grass cutting. Your overall service charge will be higher than this because it can include lots of other services (e.g. caretaking, fire safety checks etc).
Usually, grass cutting is one of your smaller service charges.
We’re very grateful for how much patience you and all affected customers have shown.
Thank you for bearing with us while we work hard to get the service back on track.