VIVO Defence Services is working with grounds’ maintenance experts Gavin Jones Ltd in a collaboration that will see millions of pounds invested to maintain the outside spaces of thousands of military family homes.
One of the first things people notice when they visit service family accommodation is how the outside spaces look and this new partnership will ensure they are well maintained for those that live in and visit them.
The new link-up, which started this month, will commit to employing local people where possible, and see £2 million invested in specialist machinery and vehicles.
Royal Warrant holder Gavin Jones – who already works across scores of public buildings, MoD properties, heritage sites, and royal parks such as Richmond Park – will now maintain 11,000 square miles of grounds with VIVO.
These spaces are provided for 14,500 homes across Service Family Accommodation in the southwest stretching from Gloucestershire to Cornwall and over to Hampshire and Wiltshire.
As well as maintaining outside spaces to help ensure properties are at move-in standard, Gavin Jones will undertake biodiversity and sustainability audits to benefit local environments and start a tree planting scheme for the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative.
In total, over 100 people will be employed to do this work and will be supported by a fleet of 59 new vehicles.
In addition, investment in specialist equipment includes 31 new professional ride-on mowers, more than 80 trailers, dozens of new hedge cutters, blowers, and pedestrian mowers, strimmer’s and other machinery.
James Forrester, VIVO Operations Director for Service Family Accommodation, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Gavin Jones to maintain communal grounds and gardens across the service family estate in the southwest.
“Gavin Jones is a specialist in grounds maintenance and has a proven record of successful delivery on the MOD estate. Ground maintenance is a key service delivered by VIVO; well-maintained grounds not only help improve the kerb appeal of the estates, but also provide welcoming and suitable open spaces for families to use.
“I’m confident the significant investment in new equipment will provide our teams with the tools needed to ensure grounds are maintained to the level we all expect. Two weeks into the new partnership and we are already seeing improvements in service which we know will be replicated across the estate in the coming weeks.”
Simon Jacob, Gavin Jones COO, added: “As we embark on this journey with VIVO, we are excited to put our knowledge and talent to use whilst championing care for the environment. In line with our Vision, Mission, and Values, we are committed to biodiversity and are confident that our initiatives will have a positive impact on the military housing community. We have worked with a number of like-minded organisations, helping them enhance their landscapes and achieve their own environmental and corporate social responsibility goals, and are looking forward to bringing this success to the partnership.”
VIVO Defence Services is a joint venture between Serco and Equans and works solely for the UK military and its partners providing asset and facilities management services as well as maintenance for the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, and the United States Visiting Forces (USVF) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
Gavin Jones Ltd has been enhancing the landscape since 1919 and is now part of the Nurture Group. They specialise in landscape construction services to commercial and private clients and landscape maintenance services largely to government and MOD sites, public open spaces, the educational sector, and royal parks and palaces.
