CONTRACTOR Amey has been thrust under the spotlight after a Trafford councillor criticised it for not ‘keeping up’ with work in the borough.

Cllr Jane Brophy put a question before the executive at Trafford Council’s full council meeting in July.

She asked why Amey – in particular the grounds maintenance team – have been struggling to keep up with requests to cut hedges, trim grass and ‘maintain the visual appearance of our green areas’ in Trafford?

Cllr John Reilly, executive member for economic growth, environment and infrastructure, responded.

“The One Trafford partnership has acknowledged that in some cases the standard of ground maintenance care has not been to the highest standard, which the partnership strives for,” he said.

“This is being addressed by the partnership management team. The partnership has experienced challenges with both the equipment used and ensuring consistency in the quality of work leading to some grass verges not receiving the appropriate frequency of cut.”

He said that One Trafford has been further hampered by the wet start to the summer season, leaving some areas ‘too wet’ for the mowers to access.

“In this situation, if the ground care crews do attempt to cut the grass it could cause long-term, lasting and unsightly damage to the ground,” he said.

Cllr Reilly highlighted a recent incident where a grass verge was ‘demolished into a mud-bath’ by a mower in under a minute in North Manchester. The incident was caught on camera and made the news.

“So we do have to careful on this,” he added.

Cllr Reilly said a new fleet of vehicles for One Trafford will be introduced in early 2017 and an equipment review of the current plant machinery has been carried out.

He said that they are tackling the problem of inconsistency through ‘detailed training plans and improvement performance management’.

With regards to the delays in hedge-cutting, Cllr Reilly said the council should made it clear to members and the public that this could not be carried out until the bird-nesting season ended.

Cllr Brophy said that the aforementioned issues were not the only ones, however.

She said that problems in Amey’s services extended to potholes and unsatisfactory tree-trimming, causing much frustration amongst residents. She asked what plans there are to review the service.

Cllr Reilly said that the council has just undertaken a first year ‘stock take’ of Amey services and added that the Amey senior management team would be ‘more than happy’ to meet concerned members in their wards to discuss any issues.