Inaugural meeting of Land Maintenance Group takes place this week

17 March 2008

Local MP Gordon Banks, Acting Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Land Maintenance Groups has announced that the inaugural meeting of the group will take place this week (Wednesday) in the House of Commons.

The Land Maintenance Group at Westminster which is attracting significant interest from MP’s and Peers from all over the UK who are concerned about the impact of land maintenance companies (LMCs) in the UK. The group currently consists of Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MP’s.

The group was formed in early December 2007 by Mr Banks and colleague Jim Devine, MP for Livingston in response to concerns raised by homeowners in new housing estates who are locked into contracts with LMC’s with very little knowledge or reward for the significant sums they pay to maintain open spaces around their homes.

Mr Banks said – “Many of the residents of these new estates have no idea what their money is being used for. It is time that this area was better regulated and made more transparent to ensure that residents know what to expect from LMC’s and also where their money is being used.”

“In discussion with residents, many of them tell me that they weren’t informed about the developers use of LMC’s when they purchased their home and this is wholly unacceptable. The residents pay hundreds of pounds each year to have their estates maintained and I, along with residents, want to know how this money is spent.”

“There is a great deal of mystery in this area and many questions have been raised which I, along with my colleagues on the LMC Group, intend to get answers to.”

“Coming from a building background, I set about trying to establish the facts of the situation by contacting friends and former colleagues in the industry. There is a great deal of mystery about how these companies are selected and monitored. I have put these points to Greenbelt’s Managing Director, Alex Middleton in a series of meetings and I was pleased to facilitate a further meeting with Mr Middleton and the residents at Menstrie. It is my hope that Greenbelt, and other such companies, will take onboard these concerns and seek to address them very quickly. ”

“It is a complex issue but we must establish why local authorities feel they cannot maintain the land themselves and how the developers decide who becomes responsible for that land if local authorities take no responsibility for it.”

“I have met several times with the management of Greenbelt and made them aware of my concerns in this area. I proposed that they provide a regular report to residents to inform them of what work has been carried out and what they intend to do.

“I believe this would alleviate some of the mystery surrounding LMC’s and the work that they do. So far, Greenbelt have appeared very receptive to the concerns raised, although there is some doubt whether their actions reflect this.”

“However I am glad that Greenbelt have committed to working closely with the new group at Westminster and they will have the opportunity to give evidence at the appropriate time. The group at Westminster has various objectives but the primary one is to ensure that residents and new housebuyers are protected and are receiving value for money from LMC’s. I will be working closely with my colleagues at Westminster to ensure that any loopholes and ambiguity that exists in this area is eradicated. It is important that we have a joined up approach across the UK and I am confident that this new group will provide that.