Bringing grounds maintenance back under council control and ownership is paying off with a better service that is on its way to profitability, according to a leading South Kesteven district councillor.

SKDC launched EnvironmentSK in March 2019 as part of a commercial drive at the Conservative-run local authority, which also followed complaints about the previous contractor.

Critics accused Glendale Services of being inflexible when it came to contract changes such as extra grass cutting, or imaginative ideas like 'rewilding.'

The company was also based in Cheshire and would reportedly bring resources in from Doncaster to mow the lawns in Market Deeping.

Creating its own company, SKDC also argued, would allow it to offer its own service using its own staff and equipment, to deliver a commercial return to the council, something increasingly important as grants from central government decline.

Coun Dr Peter Moseley, SKDC's Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations, told Nub News: "EnvironmentSK is the first traditional business that SKDC created. We were able to transfer the grounds maintenance to ourselves. We have had a much-reduced number of complaints.

Coun Moseley (Con-Aveland) continued: "We have focussed on quality, service and value for money. When we look at our previous provider we were forever receiving complaints from residents. Now we get none. That's a measure in the attention to detail they put in."

"The defining approach to my portfolio is, it has to be quality right across the board. If we can get the quality and value for money right, it's very difficult for people to complain about it. We Are delivering a service and the price we pay for it is good value."

The council-controlled company has just published its accounts for its first year. While they show an accounting loss of £133,702, Coun Moseley argues this still amounts to a 'commercial return' or 'profit' to the council.

He explained: "Essentially we are able to make one off capital allowances and write downs as a business. We actually returned a cash profit of over £50,000, and absorbed inflationary increases and government NEST pension uplifts which an external company would have passed through to the council."

EnvironmentSK says it has always had an ambitious working business plan, and this has now been presented to members for approval.

Whilst councillors backed the creation of EnvironmentSK, some including Deepings Independent Coun Ashley Baxter- who support bringing services back 'in-house'- warn that creating LACCs (Local Authority Controlled Companies) are less open to scrutiny and transparency than traditional council departments.

Coun Dr Moseley responded: "SKDC has a companies committee which allows members representing the shareholder to question the directors and approve their business plans, which that committee did for EnvironmentSK unanimously last week.

"We were very pleased that we were complimented on our presentation to the committee and accepted many questions from councillors who were ultimately satisfied enough to give us this thumbs up!"

Summing up, Coun Moseley believes there are "loads of positive things EnvironmentSK has done.

"The fact we have been profitable in year one, with all the challenges that brought means we were right to bring it in. It provides great value for money for the taxpayer.

EnvironmentSK he says, has uplifted Grantham and the parishes across the district.

"We have had compliments from every corner of the district about how tidy our towns and villages are looking. We are also receiving praise across the district for our verges where we have adopted them from the county council. We have helped SKDC bring some rewilding projects to our towns too, and our parks continue to look excellent."

"EnvironmentSK is doing well, and despite the challenges of COVID-19, is looking forward to growing in the coming years, Several staff from EnvironmentSK transferred through to the waste department at SKDC during the lockdown, showing the flexibility we can have if the council works with its companies through the challenges we face."

Cllr Dr Moseley added: "Second to the 'Big Clean' this was my next big task, and I was determined to follow the evidence with our grounds maintenance requirement. It showed me we would be better off with it run by ourselves, and in the very first year we have proved that.

"Its only with a great team of officers supporting me that we could have done this so successfully. I hope that when I continue to review our services under my portfolio in the future, that I can continue to drive value for money for our residents."

• This is the sixth and final article in a series of articles to mark Recycle Week 2020.