PUBLIC PLACES
It doesn’t take much working out that one hundred and fi fty-two goalmouths are quite a lot for any team to maintain. Kerry Haywood met with Grounds Maintenance Offi cers; Andy Plant, David Wharrier and Karl Smith at Derby City Council to discuss how they manage the vast number of sites and the challenges they face
I
t’s no secret that lower league and grassroots football have suff ered this year at the hands of the pandemic and I was interested to fi nd out how my local council have coped under such adversity. Service Manager, Charles Edwards was really enthusiastic to tell me about the team and the amazing work they do.
“Councils across the country are delivering good quality football (all sports) pitches, but here at Derby City Council we have some very talented leaders and operatives who respond to a variety of pressing needs from the public. Budgets are tight with the total cost of annual maintenance at approximately £145,000, which works out at an average of £1,800 per
pitch per year!”
“Over the past nine months, the team have coped incredibly well and have been willing to adapt to new ways of working, amended maintenance regimes and remained positive throughout - which is testament to each and every one of the thirty strong team. Their commitment and hard work mean we’re in a good position to move forward.”
To tell me more, I sat down with Andy, David and Karl who, between them, have over one hundred years’ experience and service within a council environment and have worked their way through qualifi cations and ranks to where they are today - which is to manage seventy-six pitches in total and ten park sites. To put this into context, the
It’s hard to deal with the pressure from players and
coaches who expect a higher level of presentation these days. They watch TV and can see how Premier League clubs look, but it’s a different ball game - excuse the pun!
PC December/January 2021 55
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