'Super contractor' bundle for Brent's waste, street sweeping and parks?

'Geometrical' plant maintenance via power saw

The above picture illustrates the kind of parks maintenance we can expect with sub-contractors: neat and tidy but totally insensitive to any appreciation of the natural and aesthetic nature of shrubs. This was well illustrated by bags of compostable materials consisting of flowers in bud and blossom that had been shorn off in a shrub equivalent of a 'Number 1'.

Brent Council has said no more about its plans to privatise the Parks Maintenance Service but I understand that the Council's Environment and Neighbourhood Services Department is now looking to procure a 'super-contractor' to take on waste management, street cleaning and parks maintenance as one deal.

This will rule out any in-house bid by the present highly skilled parks maintenance team as well as  contractors who specialise only in waste. It will favour the current holder of the waste and street sleaning contract, Veolia, which already provides parks maintenance services in other boroughs and has the Regents Park contract.

Veolia has attracted adverse publicity because of its activities in Israel and the occupied territories and gave Brent Council a rough time over changes in the waste management and street sweeping contract almost a year ago. LINK