Tag Archive for: grounds

Elevating Grounds Care with Battery

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Elevating Grounds Care with Battery: Authorised Hayter® dealer MP Machinery has supplied three new Hayter Harrier® 56 Pro 60V battery-powered lawnmowers to RHS® Garden Harlow Carr, helping the site take a significant step forward in its sustainability strategy.

RHS® Harlow Carr has been a long-standing user of the petrol Harrier® 56 Pro, and the decision to transition to the 60V battery platform reflects both confidence in the Harrier® range and the trusted relationship the garden has built with MP Machinery over many years. The dealer worked directly with the RHS® team to specify and supply the machines, ensuring they met the garden’s professional performance requirements.

Elevating Grounds Care with Battery

Elevating Grounds Care with Battery

Toro U.K. Limited’s Territory Manager Ben Kirkby supported the installation on-site, where the new machines were introduced to the horticultural team. Images captured during the handover show the Harrier® 56 Pro 60V models in position across the grounds, demonstrating how seamlessly battery technology can be integrated into professional operations.

Craig Hoare, UK Sales & Marketing Manager for Toro U.K. Limited, commented: “MP Machinery has been instrumental in supporting RHS® Harlow Carr’s transition to battery power. Their product expertise and long-standing relationship with the garden team ensured the Harrier® 56 Pro 60V was the right choice for their sustainability goals. We’re proud to work with dealers who champion the move toward cleaner, quieter and more efficient grounds-care solutions.”

The adoption of the 60V platform highlights the combined commitment of Hayter® and its dealer network to delivering future-ready, high-performance equipment for professional users across the UK.

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Grounds and Gardens Operative

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Due to the continuing growth of our busy Grounds and Gardens department, we have vacancies for two Grounds and Gardens Operatives. The department is responsible for the maintenance of 76 acres split between the Upper School, Prep School, Pelican School, Porson Road sports field, and the Perse Playing Fields at Abington. Using the department vehicles, the team works flexibly across all sites. The role will involve maintaining the day to day upkeep of the hard and soft areas of the grounds and gardens, ensuring that the sports pitches are safe and fit for use and that all areas appear well maintained at all times, across all sites. This will include work on flower beds, pots, baskets and any other planted areas.

Grounds and Gardens Operative

Grounds and Gardens Operative

These roles can be offered as full time or part time, and an apprenticeship is available, along with CPD training opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

  • Maintenance of the sports turf including cutting, rolling, strimming, scarifying, aerating, watering, seeding, top dressing etc
  • Assisting with gardens work including planting, weeding, pruning, watering etc
  • Marking out of the pitches including erection of goals/nets, corner flags and boundary markers in line with the School calendar
  • All aspects of cricket pitch preparation, maintenance, marking and renovation
  • Maintenance of paths, borders, hedges and roadways
  • Leaf clearance and removal
  • Early morning clearance of snow and ice from the pathways, pavements and roadways to ensure safe access for pedestrians and vehicles
  • Early morning and late afternoon gritting and salt application
  • Maintenance of artificial all-weather surfaces
  • Minor machinery maintenance
  • Trees/shrub planting and maintenance as required
  • Maintenance of bark chipped areas including reapplication and sweeping
  • Keeping records up to date as required by the Head of Grounds and Gardens

Benefits

  • Competitive salary of up to £30,915 (dependent on skills and experience)
  • Membership of a Group Personal Pension Scheme with employer contributions of 13.75% of pensionable salary
  • Death in service benefits of three times salary
  • Free staff lunch provided during term time and certain periods of the school holidays
  • Free access to the school gym and swimming pool with certain time restrictions

The Perse School Cambridge is one of the country’s leading independent co-educational day schools for children aged 3-18.

Our aim is to be a leading employer of choice. This means we strive to be a school where staff say they are proud and excited to work, and feel valued, respected and motivated.

We are committed to providing a very competitive salary and benefits scheme at the same time as offering a wide range of opportunities for personal and professional development. We want our staff to feel engaged and purposeful so that they, in turn, help pupils to be happy and successful.

Further details including how to apply can be obtained from our website: https://www.perse.co.uk/work-with-us/

Closing date: Tuesday 24th March at midday but applications will be considered as they are received; The Perse School reserves the right to make an appointment before the closing date.

The School actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

Safer Recruitment

The Perse School recognises that an important element in safeguarding our pupils is a robust recruitment process that incorporates measures to deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children, or who are otherwise unsuited to work with them. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post including: references from previous employers, a Disclosure and Barring Service check at the enhanced level, as well as eligibility to work in the UK (in compliance with UK immigration regulations). All work carried out at the School on a regular basis amounts to regulated activity.  This role is also exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. The School is committed to acting in the best interests of the child so as to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. The School requires everyone who comes into contact with children and their families to share this commitment. Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children.

Grounds Person

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About this Role

Grounds Person

Grounds Person

The role of the Grounds Person is a full-time permanent position where you will support the maintenance and development of amenities and playing surfaces, ensuring safe consistent playing surfaces are available for use as necessary.

The Grounds Person will work under the general direction of the Grounds Manager and will assist in maintaining the day to day running and use of the school sports grounds.

Why work at Forest?

There are many benefits of working at Forest school as staff are our single most important asset. Key benefits include:

  • Generous CPD budget
  • Comprehensive Professional Development Review system
  • Opportunities to contribute to the wider community via our extensive Outreach Programme
  • Free hot lunch (takeaway sandwich lunch also available) and refreshments throughout the day
  • 20% fee remission (pro-rata for part time staff) for children attending Forest which is applicable Y3-Y13
  • Subsidised membership to the Sylvestrian Leisure Centre
  • Membership of the School’s Group Life Assurance scheme and Personal Accident Scheme
  • Contribution towards private medical insurance fees
  • Membership of a pension scheme

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, so early applications are encouraged. Forest School reserves the right to make appointments at any stage.

Please note that if you have previously applied for this position and were not successful, your application will only be reconsidered if there have been significant changes to your qualifications, or skills that align more closely with the person specification.

The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. We are an equal opportunities employer.

Safeguarding checks will be undertaken on all successful candidates in accordance with School policy. The safeguarding responsibilities of the post can be found in this job description and person specification.

NB The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Application link

Kerr’s Grounds Services Goes Robotic with the RM21

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Kerr’s Grounds Services Goes Robotic with the RM21: When it comes to managing multiple sites and tight schedules, efficiency is everything. For Charlie Kerr, owner of Kerrs Ground Services Ltd, investing in cutting-edge robotic technology has revolutionised the way he works – and the RM21 Combo Mower, distributed exclusively by Agrovista Amenity in partnership with XDC, has been at the heart of that transformation.

Charlie’s passion for turf management began over a decade ago.

Kerr’s Grounds Services Goes Robotic with the RM21

Kerr’s Grounds Services Goes Robotic with the RM21

“I started working at a school mainly on cricket and rugby pitches,” he explained. “That’s where I got the bug for being a groundsman. From there I joined a sports turf contracting company, then worked at Dartford FC for a few years before moving on to Chelsea FC.”

After a short stint away from the industry, Charlie found himself missing life on the turf. “I started with small maintenance jobs, but it wasn’t the same. I got back into football when Cray Wanderers FC needed a groundsman, and things just took off from there. Now I look after Cray Wanderers FC, Welling United FC, carry out some work at Sidcup Rugby Club, and a few private sites too.”

Managing several venues meant long hours and challenging logistics – until Charlie discovered the RM21 Combo Mower.

“I was spending four or five hours every Friday marking pitches by hand. In winter, when the days are shorter, it was brutal,” said Charlie. “Then I saw the RM21 on my phone one night and thought, ‘That looks incredible!’ A mower and a line marker in one? I booked a demo straight away – and I was blown away.”

The RM21 Combo Mower is a fully autonomous unit that cuts and line marks simultaneously, using advanced GPS technology. Controlled via a tablet or mobile app, it allows users to map, edit, and save pitch layouts, meaning even complex training grids or tournament layouts can be recreated at the touch of a button.

Charlie says the benefits were immediate:

“I’ve left the RM21 cutting at Welling while I’m doing other work at Cray Wanderers – it’s like having an extra employee. It basically allows me to do two days’ work in one.”

Since introducing the RM21, Charlie has noticed huge savings in both time and materials.

“I’m using less paint than before. One tank of concentrate now does all my pitches. The lines are cleaner, brighter, and perfectly straight – and I don’t have to mess around with strings and pegs every week.”

The machine offers two operation modes: high-efficiency for quick turnarounds, and precision mode for detailed line marking, ensuring professional results for every situation.

Battery performance has also impressed him.

“You get around 12 hours of line marking or five hours of mowing on a full charge. I’ve marked and cut multiple sites in one day without even dropping below half a battery.”

Noise and safety were also big considerations for Charlie, especially when working around busy community grounds.

“It’s so quiet you can’t hear it from the other side of the pitch. I’ve used it at seven in the morning, and no one even noticed. Plus, it’s much safer than using big tractors when you’ve got dog walkers and kids around.”

The RM21’s compact size and portability mean Charlie can easily move it between sites.

“It drives straight onto my trailer – simple as that. If I get a last-minute call for a pitch, I can be in and out in an hour. It’s a complete game changer.”

Charlie’s experience has been so positive that he’s already thinking about expanding.

“I’ve started promoting GPS line marking on social media and had new enquiries coming in already. There’s nothing else like it in this area – and with the time I save, I can take on more work without burning out. I call it my ‘Kerminator’ – and it’s living up to the name!”

For Charlie Kerr and Kerr’s Grounds Services, the RM21 Combo Mower isn’t just another piece of kit – it’s a business-changing investment that’s redefining what’s possible for small, independent turf professionals.

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit https://amenity.agrovista.co.uk/

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Trilo M10 delivers cleaner, greener grounds

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Trilo M10 delivers cleaner, greener grounds: Glendale Services, one of the UK’s leading national grounds maintenance contractors, has strenghtened a longstanding relationship with Trilo by investing in a new Trilo M10 vacuum collector – supporting large-scale grass, leaf and debris collection operations across London and the South of England.

A vast and varied fleet of equipment facilitates Glendale’s work on contracts around the country, with around 1500 staff spanning their grounds maintenance, corporate and arboricultural divisions. The company has relied on Trilo equipment for much of their three decades in business, using a wide range of models including the M10, M12 and numerous SU40’s to meet the demands of its large-scale operations.

Trilo M10 delivers cleaner, greener grounds

Trilo M10 delivers cleaner, greener grounds

“We’ve used Trilo machines for basically as long as they’ve been available in the UK” said Neal Harper, Group Machinery Manager at Glendale Services. “Some of our units have given us more than 20 years of reliable service, so when it came to investing in something reliable, efficient and built to last to support a new, long-term contract, the M10 was the natural choice.”

The 10m3 capacity Trilo Multipurpose replaces a long-serving predecessor and was specifically selected for its combination of high productivity and compact dimensions, suiting the access requirements of key urban and parkland sites. “We looked at larger models, but our work often involves navigating tight paths or gateway so the M10 was the perfect fit – literally!”

Among its many applications, the M10 is equipped with a flail shaft for meadow cut and collect, and easily swapped to the brush attachment for grass and leaf collection and major event clear-ups, including post-race operations for the London Marathon. Equipped with an electronically controlled Wonder Hose, the new model enables single-person operation, improving efficiency and reducing staffing requirements on certain jobs. “This feature makes a huge difference on big clearance jobs, meaning one person can work quickly and safely” he adds.

Neal went on to praise the consistent customer support from Trilo’s Jeremy Vincent. “Jeremy knows the machines inside out and always finds an answer to our questions – even arranging for us to have a demonstration of the M10 with another customer when the demo unit was out of the country.”

For the delivery of the M10 Jeremy was supported by established Trilo dealer, and trusted partner for Glendale’s operations across the South, Lister Wilder. Neal concludes, “We couldn’t be happier with the service and performance of the M10. Our Trilo machines of all sizes and configurations continue to give us exactly what we need and deliver outstanding results for our clients on every job.”

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