Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee
Cobtree Manor Park Staff Restructure Report
Final Decision-Maker		Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee
Lead Head of Service/Lead Director		Head of Regeneration and Economic Development  Hudd
Lead Officer and Report Author		Cobtree Manager -Elizabeth Buckingham
Classification		Public Private – Exempt Appendix
Wards affected		Boxley
Executive Summary   Cobtree Manor Park has seen a year-on-year increase in visitor numbers since the completion of the improvement Masterplan in 2015 with a total of over 300,000 projected for 2018/19.   Current staffing levels of a team of two are now insufficient to provide the highest quality service to the volume of visitors and meet ambitious performance standards. This report outlines the current challenges faced by the team and proposes changes to the team structure to address these.
This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:
1)   To approve the appointment of one additional Cobtree Ranger. 2)   To approve the recruitment of a Cobtree Apprentice
Timetable
Meeting			Date
Cobtree Manor Estate Charity Committee			17th December 2018

Cobtree Manor Park Staff Restructure Report

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1  The implementation of the three phase Master Plan of enhancements to Cobtree Manor Park between 2012 and 2015 has resulted in an increase in visitor numbers of 40,000 in 2011 to a projected 300,000 in 2018.

 

1.2  By increasing the attractiveness of the park and thus increasing the number of visitors, the objectives of the charity to enhance the public benefit of the park to the inhabitants of Maidstone and the surrounding areas have been met.

 

1.3  The current Cobtree Team consists of the Cobtree Manager (1 FTE) and the Cobtree Ranger (1 FTE).

 

        The manager’s role encompasses

 

·                    Management and maintenance of the park including budget management

·                    Management development plans, progress reports, Green Flag applications

·                    Staff management

·                    Event management

·                    Enquiry and complaint handling

·                    Income generation

·                    Promotion and marketing

·                    Additional duties relating to the wider Cobtree Estate

 

        The ranger’s role covers

·                    Practical tasks -horticultural maintenance, habitat management and          conservation, waste management, playground inspections

·                    Site safety and security

·                    Visitor services- information and assistance including First Aid

·                    Undertaking preparation of risk assessments, COSHH records etc.

·                    Working alongside and supporting volunteers in planning and carrying out practical landscaping tasks

·                    Actively contributing to team work programme planning

·                    Preparation, organisation and delivery of events and activities in the park

 

        Staff cover for park keeping, patrolling and visitor assistance during school holidays and evenings is bought in from Maidstone Borough Services Grounds Maintenance team.

 

        Security services for park opening and closing are provided by an external contractor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Cobtree Manor Park Current Staff and Services Structure

 

 

 

1.4   A review of the current structure has identified the following service issues.

 

The current staffing structure is insufficient to deliver a consistently excellent service for the increased visitor numbers during park opening hours and restricts the team’s ability to:

·                    undertake projects, activities and events to generate income and
         make progress towards the park becoming financially self-sustaining

·                    facilitate wider community involvement

·                    invest fully in the natural resource assets of the park

·                    maintain resilience and cover for unexpected events

·                    explore opportunities for improvement and development

 

       There is no staff presence during some park opening hours, particularly summer evenings therefore:

·                    there is no identifiable point of contact providing visitor information        
         and assistance,

·                    an immediate reactive response to issues and incidences is not
         possible

·                    monitoring of the site and site security does not take place

·                    first aid cover is not provided to visitors

 

        Maintenance of standards of horticulture and conservation to meet Green Flag criteria is currently being met, but the staff capacity is insufficient to improve the horticultural aesthetic and amenity value of the landscape, and to increase biodiversity through more complex habitat management, creation and protection. There is a danger of decreasing standards and attrition through an increasing workload due to rising visitor numbers.

 

        Security company operatives attend site twice a day but are present for a few minutes only and have no connection with other park operations. Locking the park gates is subject to the company’s round so can occur up to two hours later than the designated time, leaving a potential opportunity for anti-social behaviour to return to the park. There have been some reliability issues with the company failing to lock the park on occasions. Security company logs show that 35% of the time closing occurs more than one hour after the scheduled time.

 

        A programme of events aimed at families and children is currently mostly delivered by an external partner (Medway Valley Countryside) during school holidays. The cost constraints of this arrangement do not allow for a fuller, more inclusive programme to cater for a wider audience to be offered throughout the year.

 

        Cover provided by Maidstone Borough Services is proficient and reliable but the scope of duties is limited to park keeping, waste management and patrolling.

 

1.5   Cost analysis of current staff structure and external services

	2018/19 (£)
Cobtree Manager Grade 9 SP3	36,720 (with on-costs)
Cobtree Ranger Grade 5 SP3	23,847 (with on-costs)
Maidstone Borough Services Cover	17,006
S&S Security	11,250
Medway Valley Countryside	1,800
Total	90,173

 

 

2.    AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

2.    Appoint a seasonal ranger

 

       This post would provide an alternative to Maidstone Borough Services cover from April to September. This option would cost £11,304 including on-costs and provide 900 hours of staff time compared to the 715 hours provided by Maidstone Borough Services for £17,006 in 2018. With the additional skills input there would be greater capacity to facilitate community participation and tackle habitat management tasks. However, due to these months seeing the highest visitor numbers and longer opening hours to cover, the objective of undertaking desired tasks may not be realised. This option would not provide sufficient in-house staff hours cover throughout the year to undertake security and opening/closing.

Recruitment to a seasonal post may prove problematic and require an annual recruitment campaign and a seasonal employee may use the skills gained in post to seek full time employment elsewhere.

 

3.    Appoint an additional full time ranger and an apprentice.

 

3. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

3.1  Option 3. In order to maintain and improve the level of service to visitors and of landscape management, it is proposed to appoint a second full-time ranger and to recruit an apprentice

 

3.2  An additional ranger would make a full-time team of three. The staff hours to be worked – 5,340 hours – would exceed park opening hours of 4,288 hours, therefore allowing a rota that would encompass the park opening and closing operations. Both the Manager’s and Ranger’s post job descriptions allow for seven day a week working patterns.

 

        The services of the external contractor for park locking and unlocking would no longer be necessary. Cover would no longer be required to be bought in for weekends and evening. Redirecting the budget currently allocated to these services would adequately fund the new post.

 

        The additional skilled hours provided would enable:

 

·                    Capacity to support, lead and supervise community input and    
         volunteering in the park

·                    A targeted work programme to be implemented to raise horticultural  
         standards and improve habitat management for biodiversity. 
         Development and interpretation of the Arboretum collection to
         achieve accredited status

·                    New initiatives e.g. a recycling and waste education project which
         would see benefits such as reduced waste services costs, less litter
         and fewer hours spent picking it, and increased sustainability.

·                    Activities to encourage good health and wellbeing and support efforts  
         to improve health inequality.

·                    More income-generating events to be feasibly planned and delivered.

·                    Educational, family and children’s school holiday activities to be run

         in-house.

 

3.3   It is proposed to further augment the team by recruiting an apprentice.

 

        A team of two rangers would be able to support an apprentice in horticulture and/or conservation providing a local learning and employment opportunity. This would have multiple benefits for the park with approximately 30 hours per week skilled and knowledgeable input. This would be a contribution to addressing the current nationwide skills shortage in these fields and would equip the apprentice with the skills and learning for future employability and progression.

 

        The full cost of the apprentice’s training and assessment should be met from the Apprentice Levy Fund. In line with the council’s other apprentices, the National Minimum Wage would be payable.

 

3.4   Cobtree Manor Park proposed staff structure and costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current structure	£ with on-costs	Proposed structure	£ with on-costs
Cobtree Manager Grade 9 SP3	36,720	Cobtree Manager Grade 9 SP3	36,720
Cobtree Ranger Grade 5 SP3	23,847	Cobtree Ranger Grade 5 SP3	23,847
Maidstone Borough Services Cover	17,006	Cobtree Ranger Grade 5 SP1	22,608
S&S Security	11,250	Cobtree Apprentice	11,513 max
Medway Valley Countryside	1,800
TOTAL £	90,173		94,688

 

 

Timetable

 

Action	Date
New posts/changes to roles evaluated	September 2018
Restructure report taken to CMET	December 2018
Staff consulted on proposed changes	December 2018
Deadline for applications for new posts	January 2019
Interviews/selection process completed	February 2019
New structure operational	April 2019

 

 

4.    RISK

 

If the park remains understaffed to deal with increasing visitor numbers, the standard of services to visitors and the state of the natural environment and infrastructure may decline leading to a decline in visitor numbers with a subsequent reduction in income from car park and catering revenue.

5.    CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

        No formal consultation has been carried out.

 

 

 

6.    NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

        If the appointments are approved, recruitment will start in January with the aim to have staff in post by Easter.

 

 

7.    CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

 

 

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	The work of the charity links directly to its charitable objects and the corporate priorities of the Council. Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all - Promoting a range of employment opportunities and skills required across the borough Providing a clean, safe and green environment Ensuring that there are good leisure and culture facilities	Head of Regeneration and Economic Development
Risk Management	Already covered in the risk section	Head of Regeneration and Economic Development
Financial	Resources are available for the recruitment of a ranger through savings on the security contract and by removing the need to buy in staff cover. Funding for an apprentice, (if an over 17 year old is recruited), £1756 - £4515 pa will be met from the existing budget	Senior Finance Manager – Client
Equalities	None identified
Staffing	Staff resource to increase by 1 FTE and 1 apprentice
Legal	None identified
Privacy and Data Protection	None identified
Crime and Disorder	None identified
Procurement	None identified

 

8. REPORT APPENDICES

 

·         Exempt Appendix

 

9. BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

·         None