Here are a few words from our Grounds Maintenance Manager:

If you are not already aware, the parish council has taken on the grounds and street cleaning maintenance within the boundaries of St Andrews parish and, last year hired me as your Grounds Maintenance Manager.

My background before this role is 26 years in the industry, working for contractors and public service providers. I am also a Swindon resident who cares about my surroundings, this drives my missus barmy when we are out of the town, but I like to think it puts me in good stead to do my best for residents.

It was a different start to any job, being in strange times at the beginning of a pandemic. My first day, however, was an absolute pleasure. It was a gorgeous day, so I took advantage of riding my bike to work, stopping at the bench on the Roman villa site to take a photo.

I arrived at work that morning to find the grass around the office was approximately 2ft high (due to furloughed staff), which had allowed a few different wildflowers to grow, and right outside my office door was a bee orchid. These are also on the banks of Northbourne Road, along with pyramid orchids and moon daisies. For anyone wondering why an area of grass is being left uncut, this will probably be the reason.

Last year as well, like myself, the parish council hired four staff members, who, in my opinion, are doing a great job at what is a large area to maintain in terms of the number of shrubs, hedges, grass, litter, bins, and play areas we have. The team, and the parish councillors, are working hard to make the parish a pleasant place to live in. As a place to work, I couldn’t recommend it any higher - not only have I been lucky to have a hardworking grounds team, but the wider team and councillors are all proactive. I have been lucky to find a job at a place with such high morale.

The parish councillors are involved in several projects to improve:-

The look of the parish

The biodiversity of the parish

Updating some of the play areas, to include making them more inclusive for all needs and

Working with Swindon Borough Council and police to make the parish a safer place to live.

The team and I have met with a few of you already, and we look forward to meeting more of you in the future. In the meantime, if you have any enquiries regarding the parish, please do not hesitate to contact us using the email address: enquiries@standrews-pc.gov.uk

Kind regards

Luke