Club Polaris launches in UK & Ireland

Club Polaris launches in UK & Ireland: Calling all Polaris sport and leisure owners – Club Polaris has officially landed in the UK and Ireland, bringing Polaris customers* the opportunity to join the club and receive unique benefits.

Designed to bring together the community of recreational off-road riders, Club Polaris allows Polaris customers to stay on top of the latest news and product announcements with exclusive member-only story content, as well as providing a hub of useful information like recommended green laning routes in close collaboration with the Green Lane Association (GLASS) to promote legal and responsible riding across the UK.

Club Polaris launches in UK & Ireland

Club Polaris launches in UK & Ireland

Membership is free**, and new club members will receive a special gift to welcome them to the Polaris family, including their very own Club Polaris membership card and exclusive Club Polaris-branded lanyard and snood. The first 100 customers that sign up to Club Polaris will receive a special welcome gift of Polaris 509 goggles worth £50 – perfect for the upcoming off-road adventures.

Bringing the off-road community together, Club Polaris members get access to the private Facebook group where like-minded riders can socialise and discuss all things off-road, whilst Polaris experts will be on hand to provide vehicle advice and their top tips for a great ride. Not only that, Polaris invite members to submit their own stories and content for the chance to feature across Polaris social media channels.

As Club Polaris grows, Polaris plans to organise group ride events on a national level, as well as smaller, local dealer events, with plans to bring the international-recognised and successful Polaris Camp event to the UK in the future.

For more information on Club Polaris, please visit the Polaris Britain blog website – Polaris Basecamp – here.

* Club Polaris is available for Polaris sport and leisure owners only with the following Polaris vehicles: Polaris RZR (any model), Polaris General (any model), Polaris Scrambler (any model), Polaris Sportsman (XP 1000 / XP 1000 S / Touring 570 / Touring XP 1000 / 570 SP / 570 Ohlins Special Edition)

** Membership is free for Polaris owners where their vehicle is within its manufacturer warranty period. For owners who would like to join with expired warranty, please contact your local dealer to sign up. Your local dealer can be found here. Customers will need their VIN number to register.

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Important survey for the amenity sector

Important survey for the amenity sector: In early 2021, the Government is funding a major survey of the amenity sector to increase its understanding of the total amount of plant protection products used, their modes of application and the key reasons for use.

It is vitally important that the sector fully supports this work as it will form the basis for future policy and strategic decisions, and it will provide very valuable information for use across the sector.

Important survey for the amenity sector

Important survey for the amenity sector

A similar survey was conducted in 2016 but participation was low which reflected badly on the sector. This time the Forum has been consulted to help ensure the survey is as straightforward as possible and relatively easy to complete. This way it is hoped that participation will be much higher, and that good and sound data can result.

The survey will be sent out electronically and, if you are selected to receive one, the Amenity Forum is urging you to complete and return promptly. It is understood that there are many calls on time, but this survey could prove really important to all. The surveys will be sent out from the week commencing January 18th

Professor John Moverley, Independent Chairman of the Amenity Forum says ‘’2020 has been an unprecedented year bringing with it personal tragedy and impacting on all our lives not just now but for well into the future. It has shown how vitally important is the work undertaken in amenity management helping keep our transport networks operational, our parks and green spaces safe and sustainable and our sports areas fit for purpose to name just a few aspects of amenity. This survey will help provide really important information to guide future policy and I urge everyone to participate if approached’’

For further information on the content of this release or about the work of the Forum, contact Kate at admin@amenityforum.net

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Tynemouth’s members pitch in

Tynemouth’s members pitch in: Tynemouth Golf Club in the north-east of England, opened in 1913 and designed by Willie Park Jr, is reaping the benefit of an innovative bunker renovation programme, carried out with the help of synthetic bunker edging solutions provider EcoBunker Ltd.

“It was pretty obvious that we had to do something about our bunkers,” says greens chair David Steven. “Not only were they 107 years old, but we run a regular membership survey, and every time, the bunkers were voted as the biggest problem, with members complaining about contamination of sand and animals digging up the edges.”

Tynemouth’s members pitch in

Tynemouth’s members pitch in

Club pro John McKenna saw the EcoBunker solution in use when playing at another course, and brought it to Stevens’ attention. “We are a parkland course, not a links, although we are close to the North Sea, so there was some concern as to whether revetted edged bunkers would meet our needs,” says the greens chair. “So, as part of my research, I visited the BIGGA greenkeeping show in Harrogate and met the EcoBunker team. I realised that the solution would fix a lot of our problems – it would give a permanent shape to the bunker edges and protect against invasive animals. And the use of recycled materials was very attractive from a sustainability perspective.”

After building two EcoBunkers as a test, the club decided to take the plunge and rebuild all its greenside bunkers using the solution. But Steven was concerned about getting the bunker construction right. “If you are doing all the bunkers at once, then if you get it wrong you get everything wrong,” he says. Employing a specialist golf contractor to do the work was out of the question on cost grounds, but the club found an answer using an innovative ‘hybrid’ method. EcoBunker construction manager Llewelyn Matthews came to Tynemouth to act as project manager, and labour was provided by the club’s own greens crew and a group of temporary staff – who were all club members!

“We didn’t want to do the job on the cheap and mess it up, but at the same time we could not afford to throw money at it,” says Steven. “To protect the value of the project, it was essential that we had great buy-in from EcoBunker, and using Llew Matthews as a PM gave us that. When he came to do the two test bunkers, he was brilliant, which gave us confidence that EcoBunker had its fingerprints all over our job. He stayed for four weeks, which was essentially a month-long course in building EcoBunkers. We think we could have completed the entire project of 34 bunkers on schedule, had COVID-19 not reduced our manpower. When Llewellyn left, there were still eleven bunkers left to finish, but our team had been trained so well that they were able to knock them off in two and a half days, and we are over the moon with the results.”

“Lots of clubs want to do bunker renovations, but don’t have enough money for a contractor and a turnkey project,” says EcoBunker CEO and inventor Richard Allen. “But they can afford to buy in the materials, get a project manager and provide the labour and plant from within. The alternative is that they have a two day training course and say ‘Right, now we know what we are doing’. But it is hard to keep the impetus high like that. Greens crews are busy and get distracted, and the bunker work is usually the first thing to be forgotten. If they hire a project manager, though, they realise they need to hit it hard while he’s with them. It’s a way of committing to the project, which is what all good bunker work needs if it is to be to the high standards that golfers expect.”

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Kubota announces further market expansion

Kubota announces further market expansion: Kubota (UK) Ltd is pleased to announce that Lister Wilder is to further expand its operation with the addition of OEM engine supply from its Ashford, Guildford and Reading branches, for customers operating Kubota powered machinery.

This latest addition makes Lister Wilder the first full-line Kubota dealer in Europe, and follows the recent announcement that the family-run dealership is to refocus entirely on the Kubota brand having already secured business with agriculture, groundcare and construction divisions.

Kubota announces further market expansion

Kubota announces further market expansion

“This expansion further strengthens Kubota’s commitment to its customers and the markets in which we operate,” explains David Hart, managing director of Kubota (UK). “As a full-line dealer, Lister Wilder will be in a very strong position to make the future investments required in facilities, technology and staff, to actively support our customers throughout these important industry sectors.”

Having successfully represented Kubota from its branches in Ashford, Guildford, Reading and Cirencester, the firm’s next phase of expansion is impressive. A multi-million pound investment plan will see the first of its new Kubota centres designed and built during 2021, along with the planned redevelopment of existing depots, starting with its Reading premises.

It is expected that the business expansion plans will also create a host of new jobs within sales, after-sales and service, plus parts and warranty departments, stimulating the local ecomonies in which Lister Wilder operates.

“Lister Wilder is delighted to have received the entire Kubota franchise, to operate across its branches, which extend across the southern part of the country,” says company director and co-owner Charlie King. “This strategic move allows us to focus our efforts on delivering expert service and aftersales support across all divisions. Our ambitions are now completely in line with that of Kubota and that makes for a very strong partnership and an exciting future.”

“Around 50% of our business was already Kubota related with groundcare and construction products, and the addition of Kubota’s agricultural and engine divisions gives us huge potential to grow the Kubota brand across our region,” he added.

Lister Wilder is a wholly-owned family business that was established in 1947. Now in its third generation, the company has evolved to become a well-known and well-respected name throughout the industry, recently winning the Service Dealer’s agricultural and groundcare Dealer of the Year awards. Its Kubota groundcare business dates back to 1995, and was followed by expansion with Kubota construction equipment in 2001. Its first Kubota centre was created three years ago in Ashford, Kent, and forms the blueprint for future development.

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