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Parks and Green Spaces

Standards

In this section
Standards

Our Parks and Open Spaces are managed by the Senior Parks and Green Space Officer and three Green Space Officers. Site maintenance is undertaken by contractors Continental Landscapes Ltd for the parks and Smart Cut Limited for the open spaces and verges.

Use the links below to find the information you need:

Our Standards

  • Parks and areas of open spaces are regularly maintained and kept as clean, tidy and safe as possible throughout the year.
  • Equipment and facilities are regularly maintained.
  • We follow long term management plans for the parks.

To achieve these standards:

Parks

  • The main parks are litter picked daily.
  • Litter bins are emptied daily (twice a day in summer in the main parks).
  • Grass is cut weekly in the summer and in some areas the cuttings are collected and in others are left, as is suitable to the particular section of the park.

Play Areas

  • Play equipment is inspected weekly by the contractors, operational three month's inspection by our officers, and annually by a registered outside inspector.
  • Play areas including the water play fountains are checked and cleaned daily.
  • Shrub beds are weeded, and pruned if necessary, once a month throughout the season.
  • Formal bedding schemes are changed twice a year and weeded every two weeks.

Trees

  • All trees are checked regularly to a programmed schedule of work.

Path sweeping

  • Weekly

Toilets

  • Are inspected and cleaned daily

Dog waste bins

  • Emptied twice a week

Graffiti

  • Removed on a regular basis as soon as it has been noticed, if you see any please help us by letting us know via phone 01386 565018, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Open Spaces and Verges

  • Grass is cut every two weeks between March and October. Grass cuttings are not removed as this would more than double the costs of the service, and the ground would deteriorate as the cuttings put nutrients back into the ground.
  • Grass cutting does not take place in very wet or dry weather conditions.
  • Shrub beds are weeded and litter is picked four times a year with pruning as necessary.
  • Litter in contractual areas is collected under Environmental Protection Act 1990 by our contractors FCC Environment (UK) Ltd (formerly FOCSA). Open spaces are inspected by our officers monthly and any fly-tipping is removed as quickly as possible. Anyone who witnesses fly-tipping is asked to report the incident to us with as much information as possible as we will prosecute the offenders. Please call 01386 565018 or complete our online Fly Tipping report form.

Garden Waste

  • Dumping garden waste on a park, verge or public open space is classed as fly-tipping and can lead to prosecution and a fine. It also detracts from the well being of the area possibly causing more rubbish to be left which could provide a haven for vermin.

Garden Gates opening onto Parks and Open Spaces

For those people whose properties have gates which give access to our Parks and Open Spaces, we do need to clarify the legality of the situation.

The main points are:

(a) There is no legal right of access onto any of our Parks or Open Spaces through such gates. This applies however long the gate has been in place. We retain the right to close the access at some future date should it be decided to do so.

(b) If you sell or let your property, please make it clear to the purchasers or tenants that you have no legal right to use the gate and therefore cannot pass on any such right to anyone else.

(c) If you have extended your garden by, for example, placing paving stones, garden refuse, compost or any other items on the park/open space land, we now ask that you move them back into your property. Failure to do so may result in us removing these items and charging you for doing so.

(d) It may at some point in the future be necessary to ask you to stop using this access if, for example, we wish to carry out work on the park/open space such as hedge planting along the boundary. If this is the case we will give you notice in writing of the proposed work and will ask you to keep the gate locked and unused in future.

Responsible behaviour in Parks, Open Spaces and Nature Reserves

  • Please keep dogs under control and clear up after them using the bins provided.
  • Use the litter bins provided.
  • Respect the trees, grass and planting and do not cause them any damage.
  • Do not obstruct, disturb or annoy any other person using the area.
  • Do not erect any tent, booth, stand, building or other structure.
  • Do not enter or allow your dog to enter any ornamental lake, pond or stream or other water area.
  • Do not pollute any water areas of any sort.

No

  • Barbeques
  • Motor cycling
  • Horse riding

Management Plans for Parks

Since 2000, the Parks Officer and team have been drawing up management plans for each of the main parks in the district. These plans draw together information from officers, councillors, park user groups and the public generally to produce a forward plan for each park to cover an initial 5 year period, after which they are reviewed. These plans assess the current state of the park and propose items that need to be addressed for improvements. They also form the basis for submission for a green flag award when a park is deemed ready to apply. The progress on the improvements does, of course, depend on funding available and this is sought from various sources as appropriate to the schemes.  

Plans have presently been done for Abbey Park Evesham, Abbey Park Pershore, Vines Park Droitwich, Lido Park and St Peters Fields and Workman Gardens Evesham.

Green Flag Award Scheme For Parks & Green Spaces

The Green Flag Awards Scheme was launched in 1996 and gave its first awards in 1997.

In 2015/16, there were over 1500 parks judged to be of a high enough standard to fly the flag.

There are two stages to the judgement process. Firstly, the judges assess the management plan which has been prepared by the Parks Officer and team and then they make a visit to the site. The park or green space is judged against eight criteria.

  • A welcoming place
  • Conservation and Heritage
  • Healthy, safe and secure
  • Community involvement
  • Clean and well maintained
  • Marketing
  • Sustainability
  • Management

If the site receives a high enough score against the eight criteria it receives a flag and a certificate to display on site. The award is valid for one year only and if a park/green space is to maintain its green flag it must re-apply annually.

We applied for the first time in 2005, and were successful with a Green Flag for Abbey Park in Evesham. We have also been successful in keeping the award for this park every year since 2005.

This was followed 2 years later by Workman/Waterside Gardens in Evesham, next was Abbey Park in Pershore, then Lido Park/St Peters Fields in Droitwich Spa. Finally in 2013/14 we added Vines Park, Droitwich Spa.

For the last 3 years we have retained the Green Flag Award for all 5 main parks.

Lynn Stevens, Parks Officer said: "Our parks and open spaces are really important to us as we know they are valued by our residents and visitors. We are so pleased with achieving Green Flag Awards for all 5 our entries again this year 2015/16. It recognises the hard work of our team, but also shows visitors to our parks that we have high standards".

She added: "Our work never stands still, all the time we try to get better and better and we will continue to work hard to increase the standards in all our parks".

Designated Public Places (formerly known as Alcohol Free Zones)

A designated public place is an area where the consumption of alcohol can be restricted.

It is not an offence to drink in these public places. However, the Police have the power to ask people to stop drinking if a nuisance is being caused.

The Police also have the power to confiscate open and sealed containers of alcohol if they consider it to be appropriate. Any person who fails to comply with such a requirement of a Police Officer commits an offence that is punishable by a fine.

A 'schedule of public places' is available from our Community Contact Centres in:

  • Evesham
  • Droitwich Spa
  • Pershore

View Community Contact Centres page

Lifebuoys are located in the following parks:

How to get the lifebuoy out of the casing

  • Pull and turn the toggle type fixing at the bottom of the case
  • Lift the front cover up
  • The lifebuoy and rope should be inside.

Lifebuoys are checked once a day.

Any found to be damaged or missing please let us know as soon as possible by calling 01386 565000.

Contact Parks Team

Wychavon District Council
Telephone 01386 565000 between 9am-5pm, Monday - Friday
Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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