The government's "Privatization of Services Bill" requires all local authorities to prove their competitiveness in the private sector. This book has been written for those people at the sharp end of grounds maintenance, those who are performing a balancing act between making a profit and maintaining standards. This book deals exclusively with contract grounds maintenance. It is a detailed step-by-step guide to the process of setting up a contract grounds maintenance section. Giving up-to-date information on tendering, specification writing, administration and all aspects of preparing for, arranging and servicing the contracts. Those members of Direct Labour Organizations who have found themeselves having to tender for their own work, should find this handbook valuable. It is a source of advice and information for parks and recreation managers, leisure managers, landscape architects, quantity surveyors and estate managers and to all local authority staff who are wrestling with the complexities of compulsory competitive tendering. It should also be particulary helpful to students of amenity horticulture and landscape management. This book should be of interest to every local authorit