The Pageant of Empire, 1924 – Part 1: Wembley and Westward Ho!

 Guest post by local historian Philip Grant

 

 

1. Extract from the programme cover for Part 1 of the Pageant. (Source: Brent Archives)

 

Today, we are used to Wembley Stadium staging spectacular shows (most recently Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour), but 100 years ago another huge entertainment event had just ended. It was part of the British Empire Exhibition, and this is the first of two articles which I hope will give you a taste of it, starting with the leading role played by the ordinary residents of Wembley.

 

The Pageant of Empire was described as ‘an historical epic’, setting out to portray the history of the British Empire. It was performed in three parts on successive evenings, twice each week, during late July and August 1924. I have not written about it before, partly because I feel uncomfortable about how that history was told, but in this centenary year of the Exhibition, I felt that I should “bite the bullet” (and many of those were fired as Britain’s Empire was built!).

 

Plans for this Pageant at the Exhibition had been drawn up by senior representatives of Britain and its Dominions (principally Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa) for many months, and the Government had promised £100,000 towards its cost (through the Department for Overseas Trade). The first that most people in Wembley heard about it, however, was in April 1924, less than two weeks before King George V opened the Exhibition.

 

2. Front page article from “The Wembley News”, 17 April 1924. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

Wembley Council had been asked by the Exhibition organisers to set up a committee, which would undertake to stage one of the major episodes in Part 2 of the Pageant (to be performed on Tuesday and Friday evenings). It was chaired by Dr Charles Goddard, Wembley’s Medical Officer of Health, assisted by R.H. Powis, a local contractor and County Councillor, and included a group of local councillors. Their task was to recruit around 2,000 volunteer performers, and get them ready, within three months, to take part in the Pageant. 

 

3.  Article from “The Wembley News”, 12 June 1924. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

4.  Article from “The Wembley News”, 26 June 1924. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

In return for giving up much of their spare time to take part, performers were offered free entry to the Exhibition throughout the weeks when the Pageant would take place, and six free tickets for reserved seats in the stadium, so that their family and friends could watch the show. An added attraction, perhaps negotiated by Dr Goddard, who was the prime mover behind the project, was that a share of any profits made from the Pageant of Empire would go towards funds being raised for a proposed Wembley Hospital.

 

5. Pageant of Empire performer’s certificate, given to Miss E. Rogers. (Source: Brent Archives)

 

By the middle of June, Wembley had set up a Pageant of Empire office in the High Road, to deal with recruiting performers, and all the administrative details required to organise their participation in the event, which would have an Elizabethan theme. School teachers and organisers of local Societies were asked to offer contributions to the performance, such as folk dancing or a “mystery play”. Ladies who did not feel able to take part in the Pageant itself were encouraged to spend any available morning or afternoon at St John’s Church Hall, to help Mrs Bannister, Mistress of the Robes, create the 2,000 costumes which were needed.

 

6. The Day and Robinson families in their Pageant costumes. (Brent Archives online image 2684)

 

By July, rehearsals for Wembley’s section of the Pageant, “The Days of Queen Elizabeth” (remember, there had only been one English Queen of that name in 1924!), were taking place. The stadium could not be used for these, so they were held in King Edward VII Park. When the 2,000+ Wembley cast members finally got the chance for a single dress rehearsal in the Empire Stadium, the local newspaper reported that: ‘Owing to its immensity, many of the performers themselves feel that at times there is considerable confusion.’ 

 

The Pageant was meant to start its six-week run with Part 1 on Monday 21 July, with Wembley performing the opening scene of Part 2 the following evening, but because of bad weather preparations in the stadium were delayed. The first night was actually on Friday 25 July, and it was Wembley’s performers who stepped out into the stadium to open the show. One critic wrote: ‘The costumes in the Elizabethan Episode are most gorgeous, and from the seats in the Stadium the effect is wonderful.’

 

7. Article from “The Wembley News”, 31 July 1924. (Brent Archives – local newspaper microfilms)

 

The pageant scene performed by Wembley residents represented a festival day in London in 1588, culminating in Queen Elizabeth arriving at St Paul’s Cathedral for a service giving thanks for England’s victory over the Spanish Armada. The action is described in detail in the programme: ‘The life of a Tudor feast day is shown in dances, quarter staff, the joust of knights ….’  After all these crowd scenes, a trumpeter and herald announce the Queen’s procession (hence the ‘300 Horsemen Wanted’, although a few of them were horsewomen in disguise!) with various lords and other dignitaries. ‘…and lastly, in her chariot, THE QUEEN ELIZABETH, followed by the ladies of her court on horse, and her Yeomen of the Guard.’

 

8. Scenes from Wembley’s Elizabethan Episode. (Screenshots from a British Pathé newsreel film)

 

I only have the names of a small number of the around 2,300 local residents who took part in the Pageant, either as performers or members of the choir. However, it was reported that Dr Goddard had the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of the “stars” at the climax of the drama, Sir Francis Drake, was played by R.H. Powis!

 

As the 31 July article above records, the following Tuesday evening’s performance of Part 2 ‘was abandoned owing to the rain’. However, weather permitting, the Wembley cast performed at the Pageant each Tuesday and Friday evening through to the end of August (except when they gave two shows, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday 16 August, rather than one on the previous evening). And as a thank you, for all who wished to take part (tickets cost just 2s/6d!), a ball, in their Elizabethan costumes, was held from 11pm to 5am in one of the Exhibition’s Amusement Park dance halls, immediately after their final performance on 29 August.

 

That is my “local history” story, and I’ll move on to the history of the British Empire, as portrayed in the three parts of the Pageant. The events included in it, and the dates they occurred, are correct, as you would expect when the Pageant’s historical adviser was Sir Charles Oman, a distinguished military historian and Professor of Modern History at Oxford (as well as being the Conservative Member of Parliament for Oxford University from 1919 to 1935!). 

 

It is how the stories of those events were told, and what was omitted from the history, that I am not comfortable with. That will not come as a surprise, because the British Establishment wanted to paint a picture of the Empire being “a good thing”, as I showed in my earlier article on why we should commemorate the British Empire Exhibition in its centenary year, The Government was keen to ensure that this message reached all levels of society, so 19,000 free tickets (mainly for standing on the terraces) were available to the public for each performance.

 

Part 1 of the Pageant, which finally premiered a week late, on Monday 28 July, was entitled “Westward Ho!”. It opened (as did the other two parts) with “The Empire March”, specially written for the Pageant by Sir Edward Elgar, who had also composed musical settings for a series of poems by Alfred Noyes, played by 110 musicians drawn from three top London orchestras.

 

9.  Sheet music for The Empire March, and the music programme for Part 1 of the Pageant.
(Source: Brent Archives, ref. 19241/PRI/3 – BEE primary source material)

 

Part 1’s opening prologue is set in 1496, and shows King Henry VII and his court approached by a deputation from Bristol. The Mayor of that city introduces John Cabot, who gives the King a gift of furs brought back from a voyage across the Atlantic. King Henry agrees to give him a Royal commission, urging him (and this may be poetic licence) to ‘go forward in his quest of the new found land.’  This is the event credited as the beginning of the British Empire. That scene is followed by a parade of “Pioneers”, described as merchant adventurers (although the victims of their activities might have called some of them robbers and pirates!).

 

10.  Postcard of the Newfoundland Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition.
(Brent Archives online image 0988)

 

The small Dominion of Newfoundland (it did not become a province of Canada until 1949) staged the first Pageant scenes in Part 1. Cabot landed there in 1497, and had some contact with the indigenous people already living on the island. Because of the huge stocks of fish found in the seas off Newfoundland, fishermen from several European countries came to work there. It was not until 1583 that Sir Humphrey Gilbert was sent to take possession of the island, in the name Queen Elizabeth, ‘lest it should be forgotten that Newfoundland was English soil ever since the day that the Bristol adventurer landed there.’

 

On that basis, Newfoundland should have belonged to Iceland, because the Norse navigator, Leif Erikson, landed in Vinland, as he called it, nearly 500 years before Cabot! But at least the Pageant scenes staged by Canada begin with that country being claimed on behalf of the King of France in 1534 (that is, if you ignore the claims of the existing inhabitants who had been living there for several thousand years before then).

 

Canada was part of the French Empire for more than 200 years before scene 4 of its Pageant portrayed the British military campaign in 1759, which saw victory over the French at Quebec, and the land become part of the British Empire. Then comes scene 5, from which the following description is taken:-

 

11.Extract from the programme for Part 1 of the Pageant. (Source: Brent Archives)

 

‘When the thirteen original Colonies of North America seceded from the British flag ….’ That is the only reference, in this section of the Pageant about the western hemisphere, to the fact that British people had colonised parts of what is now the United States. And there is nothing at all in the Pageant of Empire about the British colonies in the West Indies, or the trans-Atlantic slave trade that was the foundation of much of the wealth that flowed, to a few, from the British Empire.

 

That is all I will write about Part 1 of the Pageant of Empire. However, I should mention that, even though it was seen by nearly one million people, the Pageant made a loss, so that Dr Goddard’s Wembley Hospital project received no funding from it. One reason for the loss was the bad weather for much of the five weeks that performances ran, and it is perhaps fitting that one of the advertisers in the programme booklets was Burberry, “The All-British Weatherproof Worn in All British Possessions”!

 

 12.  One of the advertisements pages from the Pageant programmes. (Source: Brent Archives)

 

If you have found this article of interest, please look out for the second part of it in around ten day’s-time, when the Pageant heads Eastward then Southward, before a grand finale.

Philip Grant.

 

LETTER: Cllr Butt, this is no laughing matter. South Kilburn residents held in contempt

 

Alpha House, South Kilburn

Dear Editor,

The Brent and Kilburn Times recently splashed an article about conditions at Alpha House in South Kilburn LINK. I wrote a letter to them about the way Brent Council treats its residents but unfortunately it was not published.

This is what I wrote:

Thank you for highlighting the scandal of how Brent Council treats residents of our flats. The fact that Council leader Mohammed Butt can say that grass and bushes have now been - badly - cut does not alter the fact that residents were given several different dates when it would happen and it didn't. On other occasions we got no response at all to queries, as was the case when we asked about the scaffolding on Alpha House. Numerous enquiries by TRA officers and residents simply went unanswered. 

 

Councillor Butt's comment that we should make a complaint is ridiculous when we have already made known our concern to numerous council officers, councillors and our new MP with no substantive response. Indeed, when I saw Cllr Butt recently and raised the issue with him, he just laughed.

 

Such is the contempt with which Brent Council holds residents of its properties.

 

Pete Firmin, chair, Alpha, Gorefield and Canterbury Tenants and Residents Association.

Extra Event Days petition to be presented to Brent Cabinet on September 9th

 

Summer 2025

 

The Liberal Democrat petition on additional Wembley Event Days will be presented to the next Brent Council Cabinet on Monday September 9th. This means that the petition will be heard before Wembley Stadium's planning application for extra events goes to Planning Committee.

The aim is to persuade the Council that this matter is so important  that they should hold consultation meetings with local residents and businesses so that they are fully aware of the impact of events now and the potential disruption of extra days. This was done when Tottenham Hotspur applied to use the stadium. A Planning Committee with limited time for residents to speak is not sufficient.

If residents wish make their own representations about the impact extra event days would have on them personally they could write to Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, at: cllr.muhammed.butt@brent.gov.uk

 THE PETITION (Now closed):

We the undersigned petition the council to Consult and to Listen to concerns of local residents and businesses about the impact of increasing the number of "Large" Events at Wembley Stadium

Plans for the new Wembley Stadium were approved in 1999 with a limit of 37 Large Events per year. A few years later Brent Council allowed an increase to 46 Large Events per year. The Stadium owners have now applied for planning permission to increase this by another 8 to 54 Large Events per year.

 

Large Events at the Stadium have a major impact on the lives of local people and business - especially when as many as three events are held on 3 successive days.

 

We call on Brent Council (jointly with representatives of the FA) to carry out an extensive public consultation with Brent residents and local businesses on the social and economic impacts of Wembley Stadium Large scale events before the Planning Application is considered by the Brent Council's Planning Committee.

 

We believe that local people and businesses have the right to be properly consulted and informed about these possible changes and for their views to be assessed and documented before any decision is made.

The petition will also be referred to the relevant Director and Lead Members as well as the appropriate Scrutiny Committee.

Vale Farm Swimming Pool re-opens after chlorine leak

Nine children and two adults were taken to hospital as a precaution today after a chlorine leak at Vale Farm baths.

The London Fire Brigade and  London Ambulance Serrvice  were called at 1.40pm after reports of the chlorine leak in the learner pool. The Sports Centre was evacuated as a precaution and road closures put in place.

 The pool re-opened at 4pm when readings returned to normal.

Chris Williams, area contract manager of Everyone Active who manage the Vale Farm Sports Centre, said:

The centre was evacuated at 1.40pm today after excess chlorine was released into the pool.

Some customers were taken to hospital as a precaution, and no colleagues were injured. The incident was isolated to the pool area, but we closed the whole building as a precautionary measure.

Safety is our top priority and we are taking this incident very seriously. We are conducting a full investigation into the cause and will implement necessary measures to prevent similar occurrences in future.

The centre reopened at 4pm today and the pool will reopen at 6.30am tomorrow, after thorough safety checks. We sincerely apologise to all affected customers and will provide an update as soon as we can.

 

Woodcock Hill community rise up against plans for a 20 metre phone mast in a wildlife corridor.

 

The group of trees affected by the mast planning application

The mast and cabinet. The mast is twice the height of the tallest trees

 

The planning application for the erection of a 20 metre telecommunication mast in Woodcock Hill has encountered tough local opposition. The location is a rare green space that locals, working with St Gregory's School, had hoped to turn into a community garden. There are 31 objections on the Brent Planning Portal including from St Gregory's School, the CPRE, Friends of Woodcock Park and Northwick Park Residents' Association.

There are concerns about the stability of the bank next to the Wealdstone Brook if tree roots are damaged by escavation and the bank is an Environment Agency flood asset.  The area is known to suffer from subsidence and sink holes. Beneath the land there is believed to be a trunk sewer, gas lines, a water main and telecommunication lines. 

The group of trees is part of a wildlife corridor and the area around Wealdstone Brook is designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.The mast is proposed to be situated in a woodland of 5 trees, including 4 oaks 10 metres tall in front of a mix of Prunus, False Acacia, Ash and Maples. They are 40 metres from the facing houses on Kenton Road

Many residents in the streets surrounding the site say that they did not receive a consultation letter, despite Brent Council claims that they were sent, and the site notice was not posted until the school holidays had started.

PLANNING REFERENCE 24/1890

Location Street Record, Woodcock Hill, Harrow Proposal Prior approval for installation of a 20m monopole supporting 6 no. antennas, 2 no. transmission dishes, 2 no. equipment cabinets and ancillary development thereto on land at Wealdstone Brook rear of 75-79 Woodgrange Avenue, Harrow, HA3 0XG

OBJECTORS

CPRE London is a membership-based charity with 2500 members across London, concerned with the preservation and enhancement of London's vital green spaces, as well as the improvement of London's environment for the health and wellbeing of all Londoners.

We are writing to object to the above application on the following basis:

 - The height and bulk of the proposed mast is out of character with the local area.

- We are also concerned that the development could damage trees and disturb the nearby wildlife corridor, home to a variety of wildlife including bats and more than twenty species of birds.

The Friends of Woodock Park have objected as follows: 

The Friends of Woodcock Park are objecting to the planning application for the installation of a mobile phone mast.

The mast is not in keeping with the local environment. It is on the edge of Woodcock Park and in a residential street.

We are very concerned about the installation of a phone mast in such close proximity to St Gregory's High School and also to Bright Start Nursery School located in the Methodist Church opposite the proposed location. As you are aware St Gregory's School is within 100m of the proposed site, however the School is currently using the car park in Woodcock Park for temporary classrooms whilst the RAAC problem is dealt with in the main school. Pupils in these temporary classrooms will be in closer proximity to the mast. Students will have to walk past the proposed mast twice a day to enter the School, increasing their exposure to high intensity EMF radiation from the 5G masts. This exposure will impact their health and well-being.

Brent should adopt the PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE and not have 5G Masts near schools. Brent would be liable for any potential legal actions taken in the future. in her letter of 27 February 2020, to the minister at the Dept of Digital Culture Media and Sport (DDCMS), Wera Hobhouse MP quotes DLA Piper - solicitors to Public Health England (PHE) now UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), who themselves rely in ICNIRP guidelines - as saying:

"A public body must determine how much weight to put on the PHE guidance. Equally that body must determine what other evidence from your client or other members of the public or interested parties to consider in making any decision. If it be alleged that a public body now or in the future acted unlawfully in placing reliance on the guidance, that cannot retrospectively taint the guidance with illegality." This underlines the fact that, if you rely on ICNIRP, it is the council - not the ICNIRP guidance or its issuer - are liable. And, do you as a council know that the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines state that the prevention of harm and advice about interference is beyond the scope of ICNIRP?

The proposed location is on valuable green space, managed by Brent Parks, not on the Highway. The masts should not be installed on park land. Have they permissions to install here? Brent Parks have already agreed a project for a community flower garden in this same area. It will be more difficult to maintain the grass area around the mast, thereby increasing costs to Brent Council.

The cabinets will attract graffiti and fly-tipping both already a problem in this area, at more cost to the Council.

We are also concerned about the effect of this mast on the wildlife, especially the birds and the bats which forage along the Wealdstone Brook. and on the trees nearby. The Bat Conservation Trust recommend that "the erection of masts should be carefully considered, locating the mast on a part of the building as far from known roosting locations and flight paths as possible." The area around the Wealdstone Brook is designated a SINC site.

The higher frequencies used in 5G technology are known to be particularly damaging to insect and bird populations. A 2018 study showed how the shorter wavelengths in higher frequencies are absorbed more easily by insects' bodies, creating a heating effect. There were increases in absorbed power up to 370% when the insects, including honeybees, were exposed to these frequencies, with detrimental effects on their behaviour and health.

The installation of a mast on the opposite side of the park has resulted in at least 2 silver birch trees dying. These had to be removed this year at a cost to the council. The loss of trees at the proposed site would be very serious, as the roots hold the banks of the Wealdstone Brook together. No cabinets or masts should interfere with tree roots.

The area of Woodcock Hill itself is known to flood and this will add to the flood risk.

We believe the area is located over a trunk sewer. Confirmation should be sought from Thames Water prior to any approval, as they do not permit development over a trunk sewer.

This installation will not enhance biodiversity and may even have a negative effect, contrary to Brent Councils promotion and enhancement and use of the Blue Ribbon network: a. Proposals for development adjacent to river and canal edges are required to improve access to the waterways and provide an appropriate landscaped set-back which may include public open space. b. Developments adjacent to the Blue Ribbon network and other tributaries, or waterways with potential to negatively impact on its water quality will be required to contribute towards restoration and naturalisation of waterways, and seek to enhance water quality and biodiversity in accordance with the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and Thames River Basin Management Plan.

 Northwick Park Residents' Association object:

On behalf of the Northwick Park Residents' Association, we wish to formally object to the above-referenced planning application for the installation of a telecommunications mast on Wealdstone Brook, opposite 12 Woodcock Hill.

Our association represents the views of numerous residents, many of whom live within proximity to the proposed site. Our objections are based on the following key concerns:

1. Preservation of Valued Green Space and Wildlife 

The proposed installation site is located on a cherished green space that supports a diverse range of wildlife. Over the years, residents have actively collaborated with Brent Council to enhance this area by expanding flower beds and promoting biodiversity at this end of Kenton/Woodcock Hill. The installation of a 5G telecommunications mast on this land threatens to disrupt the delicate ecosystem, negatively impacting the flora and fauna that the community has worked hard to nurture and protect.

2. Environmental and Health Risks 

There is growing evidence that continuous exposure to non-ionising microwave radiation, such as that emitted by 5G equipment, has a detrimental impact on living organisms, including animals, birds, insects, and plants. For example, birds may abandon their nests, suffer from deteriorating health, and face increased mortality rates. Similarly, the bee population, crucial for pollination and agriculture, could experience colony collapse and navigational disruptions. The long-term effects on soil-based micro-organisms, plants, and trees are also of significant concern.

In addition to environmental risks, we are deeply concerned about the potential health impacts on residents. The EU report EPRS_ST and other scientific studies provide substantial evidence of the carcinogenicity of RF-EMF radiation in humans. We have linked these documents below (Sub517) that has been acknowledged by the Australian Government, highlighting the need for caution. We urge Brent Council to carefully review this evidence and to refrain from approving this application.

3. Proximity to St Gregory's School 

 
The proposed site is less than 100 meters from St Gregory's School, which is one of the top 50 schools in England, educating around 1,700 students aged 11 to 17. These students pass by the proposed installation, exposing them to potentially harmful levels of EMF radiation. The potential health risks to these young people, whose well-being should be a priority, cannot be ignored. The evidence attached to this objection further supports our concerns.

Conclusion 

 
In conclusion, the Northwick Park Residents' Association strongly opposes this planning application due to the significant risks it poses to the local environment, wildlife, and the health of residents, particularly the students at St Gregory's School. We strongly urge Brent Council to reject this application and to take into consideration the long-term implications for our community.
Should the Council proceed with approval, please be advised that Northwick Park Residents' Association, alongside the residents and parents of students at St Gregory's School and the wider community, will hold the Council fully responsible for any adverse health outcomes resulting from this decision.

We trust that you will give due consideration to our concerns and make a decision that prioritises the safety and well-being of our community.

Links:
EU Health impact of 5G https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/69001
2/EPRS_STU(2021)690012_EN.pdf

5G THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/109394/pdf/

Brent Council explains tree work in Northwick Park

 

 Two sections of the line of trees that have been worked on

 

Following publicity about the felled oak tree on Barn Hill, a Wembley Matters reader drew my attention to the cutting back of trees in Northwick Park along the border with the Bakerloo line. They were a good distance from any houses that might have been threatened by roots. The trees provided screening and reduction of noise from the tube trains.

Brent Council promised to investigate and today offered an explanation:

Brent Council Parks service had commissioned a tree survey to identify trees that may have risks, particularly if near to the railway line, paths and desire lines. A contractor has been commissioned to conduct the tree works. 

 

Following a site visit on 27^th August 2024, we can confirm that the trees in the photographs are included in the ‘Urgent’ list for works. Many of these trees are White Willows that had wounds, cavities, or other damage at height. White Willow also tends to have relatively brittle wood.

 

However, the good news is that most of these trees are being pollarded at around 2 metres in height. In some cases the trees are being coppiced, which is practically the same treatment, but at a lower height. The live wood below the cut is retained, as are the roots. These trees should re-grow and the new shoots should be visible by the spring of next year.

 

Only a small proportion of the trees are being felled to the base.

 

Unfortunately, there are a number of other trees that also require works in Northwick Park, so this is work in progress and continuing.

 

Readers may remember a controversy years ago when residents in Harlesden came out to defend trees in the January cold that they thought were being felled without notice or reason A public meeting with councillors and council officers stressed the important of communication LINK.

The reader remarked:

Thank you for finding out and sharing Martin. I wish Brent would use the community notice boards in the park to show information like this, it would improve residents understanding of what the Council is doing a lot more.

I agree. Fairly recent works on restoration of acid grass areas on Barn Hill were accompanied by useful explanatory notices.

Despite a difficult first year Brent Council concludes that Continental Landscapes are up to the job. Will Scrutiny Commitee agree?

My article on Monday LINK asked if Continental Landscapes were up to the job of looking after Brent's parks, open spaces, estates and grass verges. The officers' report to be discussed at the Scrutiny Meeting on September 4th concludes that despite a difficult first year that they are up to the job:

The challenges of the first year have been recognised and acknowledged by the Council and the contractor. These were mainly related to the adverse weather, challenges with electric equipment and the usual (and expected) challenges in implementing a new contract and a new contractor. Nevertheless, Continental have been quick to work with us and resolve issues and to identify positive solutions. The work that is being undertaken by the teams is of high quality and a good standard and is meeting the requirements of the contract.

 

There is a very strong partnership ethos between the Council and Continental and when issues have been experienced, both have worked together to develop a practical, deliverable solution. The Parks Service and Housing Service have developed a much closer working relationship throughout this first year and the shared experiences with all parties this year have made that relationship stronger and better able to deliver a comprehensive, quality service for the next seven years.

 

Many of the difficulties are attributed to bad weather and the failure of electrical tools to cope adequately with the resulting heavy work and IT issues affecting completion of the work schedule. There is only a brief reference to staffing difficulties  that Scrutiny members are expected to investigate further. The monitoring of the contract is seen as a success.

These are some of the key points in the report and I embed the full report at the end of this article:

Whilst the contract mobilised in August (and there were a few weeks of grass cutting across parks and housing sites by the start of October) the weather worsened and by November there was frequent heavy rain. The contractor was able to cut and collect all wildflower meadows, verges and roundabouts and continue to work on general maintenance. But by January, there were three consecutive high-pressure storms, which led to the water table being so high that the ground was completely saturated and many areas were flooded. Verge cutting was attempted in line with the intended schedule in March, but the heavy machinery was causing more damage to the verges and it was not physically possible to mow the grass. A delayed start to verge cutting was agreed with officers. As the weather got warmer and the rain continued, grass grew at a rapid speed and grass cutting across all aspects of the contract were adversely impacted by the weather and some issues with electric machinery.

 

The ‘perfect storm’ of conditions ensued from early 2024, which impacted service delivery in the first year. When grass cutting on verges and housing estates commenced, the electric machinery struggled to cope with longer wet grass. The actual battery run times were proving to be shorter than expected, as the much longer grass, which was also still wet, put additional strain on batteries which would last 1.5 hours compared to 4 or 5 hours. This led to less grass being cut in a day than expected. Whilst additional batteries were provided, the duration was still far short of the expected run time. This meant that verges and estates would be half completed, and the team would move onto the next location trying not to fall behind the schedule. The visual aspect of this led to complaints and teams having to return to cut areas, again delaying the cuts for other sites, which led to additional complaints. There were also some staffing issues which further compounded the issue although Continental worked quickly to seek additional staff.

 

Continental Landscapes advised that they were in discussion with the manufacturers of the electric equipment, to work with them to find a long-term solution to avoid a repeat of the issues in future years. They also arranged for the delivery of replacement mowers and handheld tools that would run on an environmentally friendly fuel (Aspen) which produces 99% less emissions than fossil fuels. This machinery was implemented mid-July and allowed for a faster catch up on the backlog of work.

 

On occasion, some litter was missed and a small number of enquiries were received about shredded litter on verges after a cut. When these reports were received, such as in Harrowdene Road, officers raised it with the contractor and an inspection carried out. The issue was not highlighted again in any successive verge cut, showing that concerns were taken seriously by the contractor and raised with the team on the ground

 

Parks did not fare as badly during this time as the grass in these sites can be cut by tractors; however, there were still times during June where tractors were getting stuck because the ground had not dried out sufficiently in certain locations within parks such as Roe Green and One Tree Hill.