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Covid-19 Special
www.thepeterboroughhub.co.uk
While many people have seen their business slow down or even stop, familyrun landscaping firm Hollyoak has seen a steady increase in demand for their services as the seasons change, despite the Covid-19 lockdown. Andrew Surman and his brother Paul, who started the business in 2006, have even had to take on more staff to meet their commitments – but admit there have been a number of challenges to keeping going and growing in the past few weeks.
Landscapers keep on going and growing through pandemic
“One day I thought I was going to have to use the teleporter to get around as it was the only vehicle available!”.
Rutland, Grantham, Sleaford, Horncastle, Skegness, King’s Lynn, Oakham, St Ives, Wisbech and everything in between.”
That was just one of the challenges, Andrew Surman has had to face to ensure all social distancing and safety protocols were introduced to keep his team at Hollyoak Landscapes safe since lockdown.
“We had a team of nine people before this, we have taken on one more and are looking to take on another to meet demand and because of the new way we are having to work to meet the health and safety demands of Covid-19.”
This has meant he has even had to go as far as to buy new vans and vehicles to ensure he can operate a strict one person per vehicle policy.
As well as operating one man to a van, Andrew and Paul have also had to introduce stricter cleaning protocols for all of their vehicles and equipment – to the point of having one member of staff on cleaning duties almost full time.
He said: “It has been a strange few months. “We were really busy with the storms earlier in the year, working round the clock to mend broken fences and deal with fallen trees and other damage caused by the strong winds, and no sooner had we got through that than coronavirus struck. “We found our services in high demand from customers where it is vital their sites were maintained, such as areas around fire escapes and where access is needed. “We’ve been doing work for frontline services, supermarkets, schools, utility companies and food factories, as well as local councils.” “We have been part of keeping the country going during this pandemic and I couldn’t be more proud of how our team has reacted. “We are working 12-hour days covering about a 50-mile radius from where we are based in Weston Hills in south Lincolnshire. We cover areas including Peterborough,
Disinfectant foot rinses have also been introduced, staff start times have been staggered and briefings have been split up so fewer staff attend and can maintain a 2m distance from each other. Andrew said: ““We are in the process of introducing equipment to monitor our people’s temperatures when they come in every day. “We have been doing everything we can to stay safe, but it has taken a few weeks to find our feet with new ways of doing things. “We are starting to get used to it a bit more now. Obviously most of our work is outside, which is supposed to be safer anyway and all of our guys have adapted well and just knuckled down and got on with it. “They have been brilliant. At the start of this all of them said they wanted to carry on working through it and that is what they have done. “They have even gone above and beyond to help those people who are self isolating or shielding and have stepped in to help new clients whose usual landscaper has not been working.” Hollyoak Landscapes undertakes projects of all sizes, either on an ongoing contract or one-off basis. Call 01406 380717 or 07886 909276. Email hollyoaklandscapes@hotmail.co.uk www.hollyoaklandscapes.co.uk
