Local MP appointed Secretary of Westminster’s new Land Maintenance Group

4 January 2008

Ochil & South Perthshire MP Gordon Banks has been appointed Secretary of a new group of MP’s at Westminster 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 – “My interest in this area came about when I was approached by residents in Menstrie back in August 2007 who spoke of their dissatisfaction at the service being provided by Greenbelt, the LMC responsible for the Menstrie estate.”

“The main concern is that residents feel they are not receiving value for money and that they have no recourse if they feel that the work undertaken by the LMC is poor or inadequate.”

“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. ”

“The new 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.