Purpose

Between July and November 2024
Housing carried out a review of Housing Ground Maintenance with
residents consulted on their views. The review recommended that
Housing procure an external provider(s) to undertake ground
maintenance services.
 
The procurement process is
underway and the report will set out the Housing Ground Maintenance
procurement and the recommendation to appoint a contractor (or
contractors) to carry out these works on a 5 year
contract.
 
Will seek to agree to appoint
the recommended contractor (or contractors) to carry out Ground
Maintenance works on Housing land.
 

Content

For the reasons set out in this
report the Corporate Director for Housing is recommended
to:
 
2.1      Approve the award of
contracts called off via mini
competition using the YPO Grounds Maintenance Services
DPS-881 Category 1 – General Grounds
Maintenance and/or Core Services for a period of five (5)
years, across 4 contract Lots for 60 months following
completion of Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
consultation referred to in this report. as follows:
 
Lot 1: North of the Borough to
Bidder A for the total contract value set out in the Part B
report.
 
Lot 2: East of the Borough to
Bidder A for the total contract value set out in the Part B
report.
 
Lot 3: South of the Borough to
Bidder C for the total contract value set out in the Part B
report.
 
Lot 4: Extra Care and Hostels
to Bidder E for the total contract value set out in the Part B
report.
 
2.2      Note that details of Bidder
names and contract values are set out in the Part B
report.
 
2.3      Note that the identity of the
successful bidders will be released after the award
decision.
 

Reasons for the decision

As well as being a Mayoral and
resident priority, the Regulator of Social Housing has two tenant
satisfaction measures related to ground maintenance:
 
TP10 - Satisfaction that the
landlord keeps communal areas clean and well maintained
 
TP11 - Satisfaction that the
landlord makes a positive contribution to
neighbourhoods
 
In 2023/24 Croydon Council
scored 51% and 49% for these measures respectively which clearly
needs to be improved. The implementation of longer-term contracts
to maintain the green spaces on housing land consistently and to a
good standard will positively impact on these satisfaction
measures.
 
Residents have informed us for
the last three years during the Annual Rents Priority Survey, that
delivery of the Ground Maintenance Service is a priority. The
urgency of these changes is paramount, and immediate action is
needed to meet the needs of residents and provide them with estates
which they are proud to live in.
 

Alternative options considered

The service review in 2024
considered three options for the improvement of ground maintenance
services and improving customer satisfaction.
 
i)    
Option 1
- Continuing with the
current service, augmenting service delivery through additional contractors
to cover all Housing sites not covered by the in-house team via the
SLA. (Nb. From April 2025 the three external contractors have been
completing works to all housing sites via a sub-contracting
arrangement.)
 
Pros—The temporary contractors have delivered
improved services and since April 2025 have shown their ability
to provide a quality of service that meets the required
standard.
 
Cons— The in-house service confirmed that as of January
2025 they were no longer able to resource ground maintenance on
Housing land. Currently arrangements via a sub-contracting
agreement and the procurement of a longer-term contract
ensures pricing is as competitive as
possible.
 
ii)        
Option 2 - Seek a revised SLA with the
Head of Environmental Services and Sustainable
Neighbourhoods requesting an increased frequency of maintenance
(8-10 cuts per year) and an improved shrub and hedge maintenance
frequency in exchange for managing fewer sites. Continue to
use external contractors to bridge the gap left by a revised
SLA.
 
Pros—This option would, in
principle, improve achieve consistent services across the council
ground maintenance areas.
 
Cons—The in-house service confirmed that as of January 2025 they
were no longer able to resource ground maintenance on Housing
land.
 
Option 3 - Given feedback from
residents and the findings of the service review, the best solution
was to look for a fully managed and delivered Ground Maintenance
Service directly managed by the Directorate of Housing via
external contractor(s).
 
Pros—Having Housing directly
manage the service through an external contractor(s) would
centralise all Housing ground maintenance elements in one place.
Housing would be able to oversee the service's method, timing,
quality, and frequency, control service costs, and monitor service
delivery. This was the preferred choice of the service review
resident focus group.
 
Cons— There is the potential for
varying frequencies and standards for services delivered on Housing
land as opposed to the wider Public Realm green spaces. This would
need to be closely co-ordinated between the various service
providers.
There are areas throughout the
borough where HRA/Highways sites are adjoined. In these
circumstances, there is a need to sync across assets to ensure a
seamless service. Heads of Service in SCRER and Housing have
identified these sites to ensure that works will be aligned to
ensure a seamless service.
 
Additionally, Council residents
would rightly expect a higher monitoring and inspection
level to confirm standards and value.