Arlington Business Park
Case Study
Located within the idyllic Thames valley, Arlington Business Park has been specially designed to blend both the benefits of a modern working environment with the benefits of outdoor living.
The Park is designed around a picturesque lake and approximately 650,000 sq ft of shared parkland. With pocket parks, open grassy banks, picnic spots, and tree-lined paths, Arlington’s innovative design bring nature into your life.
The Park is more than just a place to work. It links its community of companies together, connecting them through a series of outstanding on-site amenities, extensive events programs, all centered around its unique lakeside setting.
IPM Facilities were successful in their tender bid to provide grounds maintenance services and were awarded the contract which began on 1st January 2018.
The existing permanent gardening staff was retained and transferred to our employment under TUPE regulations. Under the previous contractor/employer they were demotivated and were working with old and poor equipment. They had received very minimal management input and did not feel part of the company they worked for.
We immediately resolved to rectify this and through their induction program, they were introduced to all the areas of IPM facilities’ business and management. On award of contract, we upgraded their welfare and depot facilities in conjunction with our client. We supplied new and up-to-date tools and machinery, including a new Park vehicle. The training was also provided and now the Park gardening team is involved in weekly and monthly Park meetings.
The transformation has been incredible, and our gardening team now works tirelessly to help create a super environment for people who work and visit the Park. The team is involved in all aspects of outdoor life at the Park and is actively encouraged to engage with the tenants in a variety of ways from talks about beekeeping to tips on how to grow vegetables at home.
As part of our original tender, we were committed to the use of greener gardening methods and innovations. We bought and trialed the use of electric machinery, we are reducing our pesticide/herbicide use and committing more areas to wild but managed vegetation.
We were also instrumental in discussions with our client with reference to rebranding our staff uniforms and vehicle logos to reflect the unity of the Park. This also gives our staff a sense of belonging and pride in working at Arlington Business Park.
For this site and client, we also run multiple corporate events for them, as well as assisting with their in-house events. These include running and maintaining 4 beehives on-site, an allotment area, as well as hosting multiple tenant events throughout the year such as:
• Meet the Bees
• Honey Harvesting
• Wreath Making
• Pumpkin carving
• Seed to Plate
• Allotment day
• Winter & Summer Hanging Baskets
Throughout our tenure, we have completed numerous upgrades schemes around the park including, tree works, shrub bed rejuvenation, interpretation boards, as well as Health & Safety elements around the lake.
In addition to all the traditional soft and hard landscaping works we have done on the site; we have also installed multiple electric charge pod points on the site. We have made a conscious effort to ensure all equipment where possible, is electric, which reduces noise and smell pollution as well as traditional pollutants. This has enabled us to carry out works very close to buildings during business hours as to not disrupt them due to traditional noise considerations which are usually present with petrol-operated machinery.
We have also recruited an apprentice for this site, who currently attends college part-time whilst onsite learning takes place.
The Park offers a unique opportunity for IPM to demonstrate our horticultural, environmental, and sustainability skills, as the property is over a vast area with many variables, has large bodies of water with aquatic life, and multiple environmental considerations, such as bees, invertebrates, and other wildlife.
In addition to the hard and soft provisions on the Park, we also carry out all the winter maintenance. This includes gritting and snow clearance.
We also provide a large proportion of the property management services at Arlington with our Property Management Team. We undertake a large number of services at the Park, including weekly handymen services, window cleaning, and jet washing, as well as a larger project, works such as civil repairs and road and car park resurfacing.