Landscape & Amenity
January 2018 Creating a premier sporting legacy
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FEGGA sustainability statement pulls no punches Following leadership from The Federation of European Golf Greenkeeper Associations, greenkeepers all over Europe have come together in a pledge for responsible and sustainable golf course management. All of FEGGA‘s 22 European national greenkeeping organizations have agreed to promote and endorse a clear, detailed and ambitious strategic vision that embraces golf‘s potential to produce multiple benefits for nature and man. Included within this collaboration were representatives of the R&A and the GEO Foundation, and the result is the FEGGA Statement of Responsible Golf Course Management. “To put this Statement into context, many ordinary people throughout Europe in the course of their everyday lives have major
concerns relating to consumption of energy & resources, and the release of particulates and emissions,” says FEGGA board member Paul Worster, himself a Golf Course Manager. “We are all familiar with the terms climate change and global warming and every industry is required to deliver a clean and non-polluting service. However, very few regular golfers would have any concept of any standards within the Golf Industry to prepare a golf course for play, each and every day. The Statement sets these out and looks for ways to improve.” According to FEGGA Board Chairman, Kamil Pecenka, the purpose of the FEGGA Statement is not to rigidly dictate to every greenkeeper how to do their job. Rather, the aim is to communicate the job that is
done, and the solid reasoning and environmental principles behind it. The Statement is to give guidance and direction to the greenkeeping team, and is to be regarded as a tool with which to communicate with members, visitors and owners. The FEGGA board aims is to translate the document into all the member Associations native languages, and with six completed 2 of which are available to view below, a real positive start has been made. This will certainly allow the document to reach more people, and for them to see the commitment FEGGA is making once again to Sustainable Golf Course Management. Another build on to the document is to make it electronically interactive, providing links to simple but important information
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Page 14-16 and guidance for greenkeepers and golf clubs to help them with their own journey of sustainable management. It then becomes a real resource within the FEGGA toolbox. FEGGA Executive Officer Dean Cleaver says that FEGGA plans to continually build on this initial statement and include case studies from successful projects and working practices. “We will not pull any punches here.
“As well as inspiring our people to improve environmental performance, the package needs to be a sensible, useful, practical working guide as to how to make improvements, and how to answer questions and scrutiny from those who pay for the maintenance of our courses. In short, we need to be credible and convincing and the document needs to be exactly that.” FEGGA
Enquiry 38
Les Malin appointed managing director for Etesia UK
More playing fields safeguarded by Sport England
In his third successive promotion, Les Malin has been appointed as the new managing director of Etesia UK with immediate effect.
New figures from Sport England reveals its role as a statutory consultee on planning applications has protected 1,138 out of 1,200 playing fields.
After starting his career in the farming industry at the age of 16, Les moved into the groundscare industry in 1993. He joined Etesia UK from Amazone in 2000 as area manager and was appointed general manager in 2006. He quickly became an influential figure within the company and in 2014 he was promoted to operations director - a move which saw him become the company’s first ever UK director.
In many cases, Sport England not only secured playing fields but improved the facilities.
Following the retirement of Etesia SAS president Patrick Vives In December, the board and shareholders unanimously decided to promote Les to the position of managing director.
company with just one product, Etesia now boasts an extensive dealer network throughout the UK and has added to its wide portfolio of products after becoming exclusive distributors of Pellenc battery-powered tools in 2010 and the Oeliatec environmentally-friendly weed control range in 2017.
Throughout his tenure at Etesia UK, Les has seen the company grow into one of the most innovative manufacturers in the groundscare industry. What started as an unknown
Les has been instrumental in helping the UK become Etesia’s third largest market behind its homeland France and Germany – which certainly is an achievement considering that
Etesia now has a presence in over 40 countries. Commenting on his promotion Les said: “It’s an achievement and an honour and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to prove myself. “My aim is to try and help the business continue to grow and show the shareholders that we can do what we need to do and make it work for them.” Etesia UK Enquiry 39
Councils are required to consult the organisation on any proposed development that would affect or lead to the loss of a sports playing field. Sport England objects to all applications unless the developer can prove it will improve or protect sports provision. The figures show that in 2015/16: • 95% of concluded planning applications resulted in improved or safeguarded sports provision • In 46% of cases where we originally objected to an application, our intervention and further negotiations led to an overall improvement of the site • Of the 120 applications where we objected to
MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE SINCE 1962
•
applications, 49 were either withdrawn by the applicants or refused planning permission Despite our objections during the planning process, 62 applications (5%) were approved by local planning authorities.
“Playing fields are a vital part of grassroots sport as they are often the place where young people have their first experience of sport and develop habits that will help keep them active through life,” says Sport England’s property director Charles Johnston.
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“That is why our statutory role is so important. I’m pleased the latest figures show that the safeguards we have in place are continuing to work.” Sport England’s Active Places data shows that across England there are 21,866 playing fields, containing a total of 70,381 pitches used for sports such as football, rugby and cricket. Sport England
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