Velvet Magazine March 2017

Landscaping
The Other
Branch of
The Business
We catch up with Simon Luckings, Operations Manager at S P Landscapes
to hear more about the commercial side of their business and their recent projects
S P Landscapes & Tree Contractors was founded back in 1998
by their existing Managing Director, Steve Pammenter. Nearly
20 years on, there are over 30 full time members of staff in their
Red Lodge based depot which operates across 3 main divisions;
tree services, grounds maintenance services and highway
services. Whilst the team at S P Landscapes work heavily on
domestic projects, the commercial sector also brings in a lot of
work. “As well as undertaking tree works and landscaping works
to private domestic properties, which is a large proportion of our
business, we also undertake a lot of work for District and County
Councils and the Highways,” Simon tells us. “These jobs tend
to be larger vegetation clearance jobs as opposed to working
on a single tree in someone’s garden,” he continues. “Our work
for Councils include managing their tree stock to ensure that
they do not pose a hazard to the public. This work will include
the removal of dead branches, lifting of low branches that may
impede pathways or roadways, and the removal of dead, diseased
or unsafe trees,” Simon adds. “Our work for the Highways
includes the removal of hazardous trees that pose a threat to
road users, cutting back of vegetation to ensure signs are visible
and large scale vegetation clearance for new junctions or road
widening projects.” And it doesn’t stop there! In addition to tree
cutting and removals, S P Landscapes also undertake a lot of
tree planting. This involves anything from replacing a single tree
to much larger scale planting of plots on the side of the highway.
“We have recently completed a tree planting job on the M11
Northbound carriageway near Fiddlers Hamlet in Epping, which
was required to provide screening of the motorway from nearby
houses,” Simon adds. Other recent planting projects include
over 200 trees planted on street verges for Cambridge City
Council and over 25 trees planted in parks and open spaces for
Forest Heath District Council which were planted in January and
February of this year. “We have also recently purchased a new
Bomford Flail Bot which is a remote controlled mower capable
of cutting grass, bramble or scrub on banks of up to 55 degree
angles. This has a massive advantage when it comes to health
and safety as the operator is not put at risk and can operate the
machine from the safety of the flat ground at the bottom of the
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Velvet Magazine | March 2017