Garden Maintenance Scheme

Council Tenants who wish to apply to the scheme must meet the following criteria.

All members of the household are;

1. Aged 16-69 in receipt of Adult Disability Payment/Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or
2. Aged 70+, or
3. Registered blind.

You must attach the following evidence to your application: 

1. If you are in receipt of ADP or PIP, you must attach a photo or copy of your award letter 
2. If you are aged over 70, you must attach a photo of your ID, or a photo of a document showing your date of birth 
3. If you are blind, please attach a copy of your Certificate of Vision Impairment 

Garden maintenance is carried out between April and October. We aim to complete each grass-cutting cycle within 11 working days, and each strimming cycle within 16 working days, when the scheme is at full capacity. These timescales are dependent on staffing levels, weather conditions, and any machine or fleet breakdowns.

The Garden Maintenance Scheme delivered by West Lothian Council includes 11 grass-cutting cycles per season. During each cycle, grass is cut, collected, and removed from site. Within the 11 cycles, there are 4 strimming cycles, which take place on cycles 1, 4, 8, and 11. Strimming cycles consist of standard grass cutting along with strimming around edges and nuisance areas where grass-cutting mowers cannot reach.

Once the grass-cutting programme is complete, a hedge-cutting cycle is carried out. Tenants on the scheme who have hedges in their garden receive one hedge cut per season, with all hedge clippings removed from site.

All tenants on the scheme must ensure that there is access to front and rear gardens and that gardens are free from hazards, dog fouling, and similar obstructions. Failure to meet these requirements may result in a missed grass cut if such issues are present when teams arrive to carry out maintenance duties.

It is important to note that we do not carry out any weed management or tidy any hardstanding or chipped areas within tenants' gardens.

You must attach the required evidence to your application, otherwise we will not be able to process it.

Every year, we will review the list of tenants we have on the scheme, and if your circumstances have changed, for example, a relative or friend who does not meet the criteria of the scheme has moved into your home, you will no longer receive the service.

We will advise in writing if you have been accepted to the scheme, If your application is successful, you will be contacted by the NETs and Land Services Team who will arrange to measure your garden.  

If your application is unsuccessful, we will write to you to tell you why.

Enquiries should be directed to - customerservice@westlothian.gov.uk

Housing Customer and Building Services are currently undertaking the annual review of all tenants on the scheme. To verify your household circumstances you must complete a new application to confirm ongoing entitlement to the scheme.