Managing agents and residential blocks in Dorking

Communal garden maintenance in Dorking

Shared lawns, beds and hedges at Dorking blocks kept tidy on a fixed annual price.

Dorking has more flats than people tend to assume. At the 2011 census the Dorking South ward alone had over a thousand flats and apartments, and Goodwyns has Linden Lea, a 14-storey tower block put up in 1965. Communal garden maintenance in Dorking is steady, unglamorous work, and steady is exactly what residents want from it.

We already look after communal beds and hedges at blocks of flats locally, so we know what matters: lawns cut and edged, beds weeded, hedges kept off paths and windows, bin stores tidy, and nothing for anyone to raise at the next residents’ meeting.

Block of flats garden maintenance on hilly ground

Dorking’s hills don’t make shared grounds any simpler. Where a block sits on a slope, the grounds tend to come as banks, steps and levels rather than one flat lawn, and a bank above a parking court needs strimming, not mowing. We keep step edges and handrails clear of growth so nobody brushes past wet foliage on the way to the car. Paths and gravel are kept weed-free by hand, and leaves are cleared from paths and drains each autumn.

Communal garden maintenance built around the agent

Communal grounds maintenance should make the agent’s life easier, not harder. You get a written annual schedule showing what’s done and when, a fixed price invoiced monthly or quarterly, and an itemised quote so the residents’ management company can see where the money goes. If there’s already a specification, we’ll quote against it. Insurance certificates are available on request. The same team visits each time, which means someone who notices when a bed is struggling or a hedge has started leaning over the footpath.

Blocks and communal grounds in Dorking: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

Can you take over partway through the year?

Yes. Send us the current spec, or tell us what the last contractor covered, and we’ll price from there. There’s no need to wait for a renewal date.

Do residents need to be told when you’re coming?

We work to a regular schedule, so most agents simply share it with residents. If cars need moving for verge or kerb work, we’ll agree a day well in advance.

Can you look after just the hedges?

Yes. Some sites only want hedges cut twice a year; others want the whole of the grounds. We’ll quote for exactly what the block needs and nothing it doesn’t.

What happens to the cuttings and leaves?

They leave with us at the end of every visit. Nothing gets piled behind the bin store or left in bags for the caretaker, and autumn leaves are cleared off paths before they turn slippery.