Essential maintenance work will be carried out in parks and open spaces managed by Newark and Sherwood District Council this week.

The grounds team, who had been retrained in readiness to help the council’s waste management team at the start of the coronavirus crisis, will be back doing their routine jobs and dealing with the spring-time growing season.

Although staff will not be working through the usual full programme of works, litter picking and grass cutting are on the ‘to-do’ list.

The council’s parks (excluding children’s play areas) and open spaces have remained open throughout the pandemic and the Government has emphasised the need for local residents to be able to use their local parks for their daily exercise.

Park users are welcome to use the facilities but must observe and respect regulations regarding social distancing, introduced to help slow the spread of coronavirus. Children’s play areas will remain closed.

Council leader Coun David Lloyd said: “At the beginning of the crisis we had to postpone all services that weren’t seen as essential and which couldn’t be done from home. At that point, grass cutting on our parks and open spaces fell into this category.

“However, time has moved on and we are now well into the second month of restrictions and are starting to see the impact of the grass growing season. As local residents are being encouraged to use their local parks for exercise, it is important that they are in a decent condition. We are sure the public will see the benefit of these limited works that can be carried out, while still allowing us to protect colleagues.”

Members of the public are being asked not to try to engage with staff while they are working to allow them to complete their tasks.

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