New contractor bringing innovative technology

Citycare Property will begin managing Far North District Council's community facilities next month, bringing its cutting-edge technology to the area.

The company takes over from Green By Nature, formerly Recreational Services Ltd, from 1 July to work on a full range of maintenance services including reserve mowing, garden and playground maintenance, toilet facilities, litter control, town centre pavement cleaning and grave digging in all three Far North wards.

Citycare Property uses innovative technology that allows its teams to assess the state of work before and after completion and has the ability to track staff locations, making it easier and more efficient to assign jobs.

Its contract will be frequency-based, meaning up-to-date maintenance schedules will be available for activities such as mowing. This will help Citycare to provide better information, such as when a local reserve is due to be mown.

The council's Property and Facilities team is currently carrying out more than 500 audits across the Far North to assess the council's assets as it transitions, so you may see its staff out in the community.

Staff are working to make the transition between contracts as smooth as possible but warns there may be some delays in responding to less urgent service requests for facilities over coming weeks. There will be minimal impact to response times for urgent requests.

For example, an urgent request would be a severe risk of a tree fall, putting people or property at risk of harm, while a non-urgent request could be a tree that just needs some maintenance.

Citycare Property is New Zealand-owned and delivers similar services across New Zealand, including Whangārei, and is committed to employing locally.

For more information on the council’s community facilities, head to our website.