150 extra staff for Glendale

LANCASHIRE grounds maintenance firm Glendale is to hire an extra 150 staff after winning a major contract to cut back trees and hedges around power lines for an electricity distribution group.

Glendale, part of Preston-based Parkwood Holdings, has secured the work with Western Power Distribution, the trading name of three electricity distribution companies – WPD South West, WPD South Wales and WPD Midlands.

The five-year job is worth £5.5m and has an option to extend for a further five years.

James Thomson, director of utility arboriculture at Glendale, said: “Utility arboriculture is incredibly specialist but Glendale’s experienced teams have been delivering utility solutions for the past 20 years.

“We will carry out detailed arboriculture surveys of the vegetation, gain consent from any landowners, then undertake any work in line with the surveyor’s assessment. We’ll also monitor the strength and stability of any trees within a falling distance of power lines, which will minimise any downtime on the network due to tree incursions.”