MONTH IN REVIEW
RESEARCH
FOUR MONTH WAIT
FOR GOOD BUILDERS,
RESEARCH REVEALS
GREEN SPACE
LONDON ASSEMBLY
URGES MAYOR TO
PROTECT GREEN
SPACE IN NEW
REPORT
The London Assembly
Environment Committee has
written a report urging the
capital’s mayor to take measures
to protect and maintain the
capital’s green spaces.
In the report, ‘Park life:
ensuring green spaces
remain a hit with Londoners’,
recommendations are made to
focus and invest in areas which
are most in need.
The report suggests that
funding into green space in the
city has fallen due to the cuts
within local authorities.
The Committee also called
on the Mayor to use the GLA’s
Team London to support green
space managers to increase
and diversify London’s green
space volunteering community
– particularly to involve more
young people.
The recommendations
made were:
• To extend and improve
access to quality green
spaces in London
• To safeguard the financial
future of green spaces in
London
• To provide a clear vision for
green space management
which is open, inclusive and
accountable to the public
• Strengthen London’s
infrastructure by connecting
existing green spaces
Grant Associates’ designs for two
hectares of public realm at Barangaroo
South have been revealed, as the next
phase of Sydney’s landmark waterfront
development is submitted to planners.
A Research from the Federation of
Master Builders (FMB) has suggested
that homeowners should book in their
builder at least four months before
work starts to avoid ‘cowboy’ workmen.
The research also showed that an
“alarming number” of consumers do not
ask their builders for essentials such as
a contract or references when beginning
a major piece of building work.
Statistics from the research showed:
• More than 40% of builders need
at least four months’ notice from
consumers who want to hire
their firm
• 90% of builders say that the
majority of homeowners do not
ask for a written contract
• 80% of builders report that most
consumers do not ask for an
agreed payment schedule
• Fewer than 10% of builders say
that clients normally request to
see vital insurance policies such
as public liability or employer’s
liability insurance
BURSARY
BRITISH SUGAR
TOPSOIL
ANNOUNCES FIRST
BURSARY RECIPIENT
Richard Johnstone has been
named as the first recipient of
the British Sugar TOPSOIL
Training Bursary.
The bursary was launched in
January to celebrate TOPSOIL’s
20 years in business and was
created to support anyone in the
greenkeeping, groundsmanship,
landscape contracting or garden
design sectors who could dem-
onstrate they would benefit from
financial support to help develop
their skills and knowledge.
Johnstone, 34, is a golf course
manager from Nairn, Scotland
and has worked at Nairn Dunbar
Golf Links since he left school
aged 17. He will use the £500
bursary to pay for the first year of
a three year HND in Golf Course
Management starting in August.
Johnstone said: “I completed
an HNC in Golf Course Man-
agement in 2012 and although
my club has always been very
supportive, it currently has more
pressing demands on its resourc-
es and cannot afford to make
further education a priority.
“It has taken me 17 years to
work my way up the ladder and
I am determined to improve and
develop as a course manager.”
The continued expansion of
the green roof market plays an
essential role in highlighting the
diversity of the industry.”
James Talman, CEO of the National Federation of
Roofing Contractors
12
Landscape Insight | August 2017