Professional Grounds Maintenance and Specialist Biodiversity Management across Historic Tenby

Executive Summary

We delivered a comprehensive grounds maintenance contract for Pembrokeshire County Council, focusing on high footfall public areas and wildflower conservation sites across Tenby. Our team managed seasonal cut and collect operations, horticultural care, and site cleanliness while operating within a live visitor environment to enhance the town's natural heritage and aesthetic appeal.

About the Client

Pembrokeshire County Council is responsible for the upkeep of iconic coastal locations that are vital to the local tourism economy. Tenby is a premier destination requiring a high standard of maintenance to support its reputation as a world class visitor hub. The Council's Environmental Services team prioritises both public safety and the enhancement of local biodiversity.

The Challenge

The project involved maintaining diverse green spaces including the historic Castle Hill and various town locations. Primary difficulties included:

Live Public Environments: Working in areas with constant pedestrian traffic meant that public safety and access were the top priorities.

Wildflower Management: Wildflower areas required a specific maintenance cycle to prevent nutrient enrichment of the soil. If arisings are not collected, the soil becomes too fertile, allowing coarse grasses to outcompete the wildflowers.

Logistics and Access: Restricted vehicle access in the historic town centre and steep coastal gradients made the removal of heavy green waste challenging.

Waste Compliance: All organic matter had to be removed from the site immediately and transported to a registered facility to meet strict environmental and aesthetic standards.

The Solution

We implemented a biannual maintenance regime designed to promote wildflower growth while keeping the town tidy. Our approach combined traditional horticulture with modern biodiversity management techniques:

Specialised Cut and Collect: We utilised machinery designed to cut and simultaneously collect vegetation, ensuring that no organic matter was left to rot on the wildflower beds.

Horticultural Maintenance: This included scheduled hedge cutting, shrub pruning, and the weeding of ornamental flower beds to ensure year round visual quality.

Path Cleanliness Protocols: We integrated leaf blowing into the daily workflow to ensure that all pedestrian thoroughfares remained clear of debris and safe for the public.

Environmental Accountability: We established a clear chain of custody for all green waste, ensuring 100 percent of arisings were disposed of at a registered green waste facility.

The Implementation

Works were sequenced into two main visits per year to align with the wildflower lifecycle, usually one in late summer and one in autumn.

Phase 1: General Maintenance: Our teams performed hedge cutting and shrub maintenance across designated sites, ensuring that vegetation did not encroach on public paths.

Phase 2: Wildflower Harvest: We executed the cut and collect operation. For larger areas, we used specialized mowers, while steep banks were strimmed manually with arisings raked and collected by hand.

Phase 3: Site Finishing: Following the heavy works, we used leaf blowers to clear all paths and walkways. We also cleared any general litter or waste found within the green spaces to ensure a pristine finish.

Safety Controls: We managed the live site by using spotters and temporary cordons in high traffic areas, ensuring that the public could navigate the town without risk of injury from machinery.

Additional Projects and Challenges

One significant challenge involved maintaining the steep banks near the Castle Hill café slipway. These areas required manual strimming and hand collection due to the incline and proximity to the public. We also managed the careful pruning of vegetation around heritage masonry on the castle walls, ensuring that no historic stonework was disturbed during the process. Weather conditions often dictated the timing of these works, requiring us to be flexible and mobilise quickly during dry spells to ensure the ground was not damaged by foot traffic or machinery.

The Results

Enhanced Biodiversity: The successful cut and collect regime has directly contributed to the health of pollinator habitats across Tenby, with visible increases in wildflower diversity.

Public Safety: We completed all high footfall works without a single safety incident or complaint from the public.

Waste Management: All green waste was successfully diverted from the site to a registered facility, supporting the Council's sustainability goals.

Aesthetic Quality: Paths and flower beds were maintained to a gold standard, ensuring the town remained "camera ready" for the peak tourist season.

Lessons Learned

The project reinforced the importance of using the correct machinery for biodiversity tasks; traditional mowing is insufficient for wildflower meadows. We also found that proactive path blowing is the most effective way to maintain public confidence during disruptive maintenance works. Finally, we learned that maintaining a flexible schedule is essential when working in coastal environments where weather and visitor numbers can change rapidly