The property check-ins conducted by Savills in the second half of 2024 have provided an opportunity for a portfolio-wide assessment of the condition of gardens and trees. As a result, the Property Working Group have reviewed ongoing policy and agreed to implement an interim policy. The aims of these changes are:
- To bring the condition of all our gardens up to a standard and specification that the occupant can be reasonably expected to maintain, factoring in size and complexity. Clergy are able to use the request for works outside of policy process to request the Property Working Group review the assessment of reasonable maintenance if required.
- To identify issues that the Diocese is responsible for and can increase its efforts to maintain
- To identify opportunities for the Diocese to provide greater support that is financially sustainable
- To clarify available help for any occupants who are struggling to keep up with garden maintenance, e.g. for health reasons or in exceptional circumstances due to the size of their garden.
Interim Garden Policy
A helping hand bringing our gardens up to standard
From 2025, vacancies will be used to ‘simplify’ gardens so they can be as easily maintained as possible for subsequent occupants e.g. by reducing decorative borders, beds and shrubs and converting them to lawn; removing poisonous, invasive and especially thorny plants and trees; trimming hedges to six foot. This review will include sheds, garden rooms and greenhouses: any outdoor structures that are not wanted by the current occupant and are in a poor state of repair will be removed.
For occupied properties, the same principle will be applied: if the clergy occupant is in agreement, the garden will be ‘simplified’ until it is as easy to maintain as possible. This work will be carried out over approximately five years across the portfolio in order to spread costs which are anticipated to be significant. The review will take place during the QI and no work will be undertaken without the consent of the occupant.
The Diocese asks in return that once a garden has received this investment and is easier to maintain, the occupant commits to keeping it under control, according to the standards set out in the Clergy Housing Handbook, for the duration of their occupancy. Should the occupant wish to erect a shed, greenhouse or other garden structure during their tenure, they must first consult Savills and agree to removing the structure at their own expense, if required, when vacating the property.
Updated Gardens Policy in the Clergy Housing Handbook
Increased support from the Diocese for ongoing garden maintenance
The Diocese has put a number of new measures in place to support occupants in maintaining their gardens to the standard required, now published in the Handbook:
- The Diocese will reimburse up to £150 each year, to spend on whatever is required to maintain the garden. For example: equipment (lawnmower, strimmer, hedge trimmer); employing a gardener during the summer months; paying for a local council garden waste collection service. For larger equipment purchases the Diocese will reimburse the equivalent of up to 5 years claims at once. This will then prohibit further reimbursements being made in this time once the maximum of £750 has been claimed. For example if £450 is claimed in year 1 to purchase a lawn mower the clergy person is then not entitled to any further reimbursement until year 4. We do not wish to be prescriptive with what can be claimed but receipts for items with purposes other than garden maintenance will not be eligible for reimbursement. To apply, please visit the grants page.
- The Diocese has commissioned Savills to undertake a portfolio-wide assessment of trees under a three to five-year Tree Management Plan, with works undertaken to manage the trees. Any dead, dying or dangerous trees will be prioritised for treatment. As will trees that have grown to a size where they are causing damage to properties, utilities or where complaints have been received from the local authority. If occupants identify any deterioration of trees on or overhanging their property, please inform Savills.
- The Diocese will take over responsibility for managing invasive, pervasive and poisonous plants and trees. Where possible they will be removed systematically across the portfolio, over approximately the next five years. In return, clergy must not plant any new invasive, pervasive and poisonous plants and trees on the property.
- Some occupants may require extra assistance (e.g. due to disability, a health condition, frailty or other exceptional circumstances). The Diocese encourages use of the request for works outside of policy process for support in these instances.