With responsibility for 309 hectares of major urban and country parks, 65 play areas and numerous small areas of open space, the Leisure Services department of Swale Borough Council faces a major challenge to maintain and improve the region’s green landscape.
Located on the North Kent coast between London and Dover, the council provides a host of services to residents in Sittingbourne, Sheppey, Faversham and the surrounding parish areas.
Its leisure team of seven people includes 36-year-old Alan Marolia, the borough’s Parks and Children’s Play Officer, who has worked for the council for the past nine years.
Responsible for a £1.2 million annual grounds maintenance budget as well as other significant amounts to spend on play area maintenance, including major lottery funding, his role is multi-faceted.
“We effectively see our responsibilities as covering pretty much any area that is green - that includes allotments, playgrounds, roadside verges and cemeteries as well as parks and gardens, recreation grounds and playing fields. Across the borough we need to ensure the broad range of public green space is maintained to the highest standard.”
For Alan Marolia, a key part of that delivery is an annual ‘catch-up’ visit to IOG SALTEX, an event he has been attending since his student days.
“My background even before joining the council has always been in horticulture, working in commercial nurseries, garden centres and landscaping, so IOG SALTEX has always been important to me. The only difference today is that when exhibitors see my name badge they are slightly more willing to talk to me than when I visited as a student - but I’ve got a long memory,” he jokes.
Last year he returned to the show with several leisure services colleagues. “Windsor is only an hour away so we go up on the opening morning and make a real day of it. It’s good for teambuilding and we all have our own areas of specialism so between us we can cover large sections of the show.”
With specific responsibility for grounds maintenance and play, he finds that the show assembles everyone and everything he needs. “I find it incredibly beneficial because not only do I check out the very latest in plant, equipment, chemicals and even legislation, I also get the opportunity to catch up with people whose help and advice is invaluable.
“It’s not just salesmen that you meet on the stands but managing directors, area managers, other client officers and basically like-minded people who share a professional interest in all things horticultural.”
For him, another most important aspect is the ability to ‘see, touch and feel’ equipment, something that no amount of web surfing or reading of product literature can achieve.
“If you’re buying a new car you want to test drive it rather than just order off a catalogue picture. It’s the same with new play equipment. If I’m spending £20k-£30k, I want to actually see how it looks and performs before I invest.”
Swale Borough Council has, in fact, purchased from an IOG SALTEX exhibitor new sets of play equipment that have been incorporated into urban play area schemes.
Although the council’s leisure services team goes to the show with some specific ideas on who and what it needs to see, Alan Marolia is also a firm believer in having a good browse round and discovering stands that might not have been on the original target list.
“While I’m disciplined in terms of identifying what I definitely need to see at the show, I would always recommend having a look at some of the less obvious exhibitors. There are always new, interesting and different products and services to see and, with the best interests of our council residents in mind, that’s why it’s so important my team goes to the show every year.”
Spource: Wildish Communications Ltd
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment