Shared outside areas
Shared outside areas
Who looks after our shared outdoor spaces:
In Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock, Royston and nearby villages, we work with North Herts Council (NHC), to look after our communal green spaces.
We have our own grounds maintenance teams. They look after/are responsible for:
- Grass cutting (in new developments, homes outside our main service area, and areas such as garage blocks, rear footpaths and alleyways)
- Hedge trimming
- Shrub care
- Weed control on paths and hard surfaces
Cut around 12 times a year between February and October. Grass clippings are not collected by Settle. This is the responsibility of North Herts Council. See their info here.
- Fine grass (such as around sheltered housing) – Cut up to 20 times a year in the same months. Grass clippings are collected by Settle.
- Conservation/wildlife areas – Cut monthly, quarterly, or yearly, depending on the type of habitat.
In many places, our grassed areas are next to spaces maintained by Hertfordshire County Council, North Herts Council, Central Bedfordshire Council or Bedford Borough Council. These may be on a different schedule and could be cut less often. If you have any concerns or queries about grass cutting in your neighbourhood, contact us here.
Hedgerows are long lines of bushes or small trees that mark boundaries, such as along paths, gardens, or open spaces.
We cut communal hedges three times a year:
- Late spring/early summer
- Late summer/early autumn
- Winter – when we also carry out any bigger work if needed.
How often we cut depends on the type of hedge, as some species have different needs.
We cut back communal shrub beds twice a year – once in late spring or early summer, and again in winter, depending on the types of plants in each bed.
In the summer, we also check these areas regularly for overgrown plants, litter, or anything else that needs tidying.
We only carry out tree work in communal areas if there’s a health and safety risk, and only after an inspection or survey. This work would be covered by your service charge. We don’t provide regular or routine tree maintenance.
Trees in residents’ own gardens are normally their responsibility, as set out in tenancy agreements.
We spray communal hard surfaces, such as paths and paved areas, twice a year to help control weeds. This work is always done by trained colleagues using approved products and following safety regulations as set out in The Control of Pesticices Regulations 1986.
In neighbourhoods where we provide dog waste and litter bins, we empty them regularly every 7-10 days.
Our contractors carry out regular inspections of communal play areas to make sure all equipment is safe and ready to use.
You can report issues like flytipping and littering in your shared outside areas through your local council.
A quick way to do this is via FixMyStreet. FixMyStreet is an independent service that helps anyone report local issues without needing to know council boundaries or responsibilities.
What we don’t do
While we aim to keep shared areas well-maintained, there are some types of work we don’t routinely carry out:
- Grass edging – we don’t trim the edges of grass areas with shears or edging tools.
- Leaf clearance – we don’t collect fallen leaves in summer or autumn.
- Litter picking – we don’t carry out regular neighbourhood wide litter picking.