Parks and open spaces - maintenance

Bristol has hundreds of parks and urban green spaces and we use many different methods, operations and contractors to maintain them. 

If you have any comments, queries or concerns about the management and maintenance of a park or green space in Bristol, please contact Parks and Estates and we will ensure your information is promptly actioned.

Grounds Maintenance team

Our Grounds Maintenance team provides a full range of horticultural and associated services.

Including:

• landscaping
• maintaining outdoor areas and parks
• plant supply
• school grounds care
• installation and maintenance of play areas

The team's nursery on the Blaise Castle Estate is environmentally friendly and grows 1.5 million plants per year for public displays right across the city.

This highly experienced and well equipped team has the necessary background, skills and qualifications for any job:

• Good environmental performance, EMAS accredited 
• City Council identity - for accountability and assurance
• Fully compliant with Bristol City Council Health & Safety policy
• Well maintained plant and machinery

Landscape Services

Our Landscape Maintenance team can provide a hard and soft landscaping service on any scale, from minor schemes on small pockets of land to construction on large contoured surfaces. They provide a comprehensive a service for all kinds of projects.

Their work is very varied:

• planning and supplying flower beds
• car park extensions,
• creating 'outdoor classrooms' in school grounds
• specialist weed control
• wildlife ponds
• paths
• sports pitches
• play area installation
• hard surface sports areas
• cycle paths
• fencing
• wall repairs

as well as many other hard and soft landscape services.

Nursery

Our accredited plant nursery at the Blaise Castle Estate produces approx 2.5 million plants per year. Our size and success means that we grow, supply, and deliver plants for many other authorities in addition to Bristol. We give careful consideration to the suitability of plants for individual situations, and use stable growing processes to ensure good quality. Modern methods are used for efficient and prolific production - compressed air driven transplanting machines are capable of potting over 10,000 plants an hour.

We grow and supply around 5,000 hanging baskets and troughs a year, helping to make Bristol beautiful floral city. We can plan flower and plant displays of any scale, and our team includes a qualified florist who can organise, supply and maintain indoor decorations and office plants.

We use water from a bore hole on the Blaise Estate, and have installed a biomass boiler (which runs on waste woodchip) to heat the nursery. We can supply plants grown in either 100% or 40% peat free compost. The use of pesticides/fungicides are kept to a minimum.

Parks Maintenance

We work hard to ensure that Bristol's parks are in the best possible condition.

As well as cutting the grass and maintaining trees and shrubs, our work includes many other areas:

• wildlife sites and nature reserves
• conservation sites, haycutting meadows
• wildflowers and rough and rural areas
• building structures for socialising, and street furniture
• formal gardens on heritage estates, e.g. Ashton Court
• heritage sites including Blaise Castle, Ashton Court, Oldbury Court Estate
• cricket squares, bowling greens, tennis courts, preparing turf, maintaining pitches
• lakes at St George and Eastville parks
• borders, roses, formal and informal hedges
• operate a park keeper's service, to provide security and a friendly presence citywide
• working with community groups and park users

We have a large and experienced team of local employees and can provide a seamless service alongside the general maintenance - supplying plants, landscaping projects and more.

Working with schools and communities

We are specialists in providing grounds care and maintenance for schools in Bristol, and also work for social services,  youth clubs and many other organisations. Schools can contact us to discuss the outdoor environment, and be reassured that the quality of our work is effectively guaranteed by the fact that we are part of the city council.

Some examples of work we deliver for schools:

• cutting grass, pruning shrubs, general maintenance
• sports marking, and maintaining sports fields
• creating an innovative outdoor classroom space, 'quiet areas', shady areas
• planning, installing and maintaining play equipment
• installing bike racks and shelters
• anything else that would benefit the students by improving their environment

We undertake full risk assessments for all our work and work to the city council's Health & Safety Policy. We are always happy to talk to community venues and other authorities to discuss our services.