Environmental services

As part of our grounds maintenance, we keep communal PCH green spaces clean, tidy and well-maintained. A lot of this maintenance is seasonal and weather dependant, so we have a schedule for when this work is completed.

This includes:

• Grass cutting
• Grass edging
• Hedges and shrubs (under the Wildlife & Country Act 1981, we are unable to cut hedges between March and July, or beyond that time if there is visible evidence of nesting birds)
• Weed control.

If you have your own garden, you will be responsible for maintaining it.

PCH does not own all of the grassed areas on every estate and some may be owned by your local council or a private landowner. We also do not own roads or pavements - these are owned by your local council so please contact them if you have any queries.

Contact our Environmental Services Team if you have a query about the maintenance of our green spaces or if you’re unsure whether the land belongs to us.

Trees are essential to our communities. As well as having an Environmental Strategy and being a very environmentally friendly company, PCH have a legal obligation as a landowner to manage our tree stock to ensure the safety of the public.

We maintain and manage all the trees situated on PCH owned communal land and our tenants and leaseholders are responsible for maintaining and preserving any trees growing in their gardens or on the land covered by their tenancy agreement.

Contact our Environmental Services Team if you have a query about a tree in your communal area or in your garden.

Householders are responsible for the appropriate disposal of their household waste and must put their refuse into the bins provided. The collection of waste bins is managed by your local council and the Rangers are not responsible for managing any of the household refuse. 

Plymouth Community Homes does not offer a waste removal or collection service, so if you need to dispose of a bulky item or other waste, here are some options available to you:

• Use a licensed waste removal company
• Plymouth City Council offers a bulky waste collection service 
• Take it to one of the recycling centres at Weston Mill or Chelson Meadow

Fly-tipping is rubbish or items that are illegally left on land without the owner's permission. It can include large items like white goods, furniture, garden waste, commercial builder waste, litter and any refuse that householders can’t fit in the brown and green bins.

Leaving any waste on PCH land without permission is considered fly-tipping, and further action may be taken against the fly-tipper, including reporting it to the local council enforcement team.

Please report anyone you see fly-tipping. As well as breaking the law, committing an offence and potentially breaching their tenancy, they’re also making the area where you live look unsightly and spoiling the quality of life for local residents.

Our team are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the communal areas of most blocks of flats. The service provided can differ between the blocks and will often include the following:

Internal services

• cleaning of communal stairwells including entrances and exits
• checking communal lighting is clean and working
• reporting and removing any immediate fire safety concerns
• reporting communal repairs.

External services

• ensuring communal areas are frequently litter picked
• weeding of communal areas
• keeping the communal bin bays clean and tidy
• reporting communal repairs
• caretakers also report fly tip.

A detailed specification of the services provided to your block is available upon request.

Where laundry facilities are provided in some of our blocks, the Ranger will complete a weekly clean of the laundry, as well as carrying out a visual safety check before opening it each day.

Graffiti is words or drawings written, painted, sprayed or scratched onto the surface of any property or structure.

Leaving graffiti on Plymouth Community Homes property without permission is considered vandalism, and further action may be taken against the offender.

Please report anyone you see leaving graffiti. As well as committing an offence and potentially breaching their tenancy, they’re also making the area where you live look unsightly.

Report graffiti on public property in Plymouth to Plymouth City Council or contact your local council if you live outside of Plymouth.

The Environmental Services team provide a cleaning service in our Housing with Support schemes to keep the communal areas clean.

The cleaning could include entrances, stairs, hallways, laundries, lifts, communal rooms, kitchens and toilets, and is subject to the requirements of each scheme.

The Environmental Services team work closely with the PCH repairs teams to ensure that any properties that are vacated are returned to a lettable standard, ready for the next resident to move in.

As part of our green strategy to reduce waste, reuse and recycle, we have our ‘Re-use Centre’ where we sort any waste items we have, to reduce the waste going to landfill. Where we have items that are in good condition and are re-useable these can be requested by tenants who are facing hardship via their Housing Officer, and these items are provided free of charge.

Another part of the work we do at the Re-use Centre is to support local charities by donating items they can use. We also have regular toy fairs, where the toys we accumulate are cleaned up and are provided free to local residents and children.

PCH are responsible for 14 playgrounds, and these are kept clean and safe by the Rangers and Chargehands who work in the area, with a weekly safety inspection being completed by our Environmental Services Team Leaders.

We carry out work on other areas of land that we own, such as weeding pathways, cutting back bushes and power washing. This work is often on an ad-hoc basis when needed, although some areas have a regular programme of maintenance provided.