Site Changes

We know many of you have been asking about staffing on site, especially with the rumours that tend to circulate, so we hope this update helps clear things up.

As we’ve said for some time, Regency were brought in to stabilise the park and guide us out of administration, so some changes were always going to follow as part of putting Dunton on a stronger footing for the future.

Site Maintenance

Ground Control now hold the contract to maintain Dunton Park. They work to a planned maintenance schedule covering hedge trimming, grass cutting, sweeping the bin areas and similar tasks. Regency have assured us that standards will not drop — in fact, they believe this approach will improve efficiency. So please be reassured: the rumours that we won’t have grounds staff at all simply aren’t true. It’s just a different, more flexible way of working.

Office Staffing

We’d also like to reassure everyone that the office is not closing. A similar flexible approach is simply being introduced to how it is staffed.

The office will still be open for residents who need to make physical payments or prefer to speak to someone in person. However, as many services have moved away from the office — such as gas bottle sales — Regency have been able to reduce the number of hours it needs to be staffed.

Sadly, this does mean that Sue has now left us. Many of you had been asking why she hadn’t been around, but the office couldn’t confirm anything until today. We’ve now been told she has taken a redundancy package. Sue has been a familiar and friendly face for a long time, and we know many residents will miss her. We want to thank her for everything she’s done for the community and wish her nothing but the very best for the future.

As we’ve said over the past few months, it’s been obvious where things were heading in terms of staffing. We raised concerns many times that all these changes would inevitably lead to job cuts - especially after gas sales were removed - and unfortunately that’s exactly what has happened. While we understand the business reasons behind streamlining, it’s never easy when good people like Sue are affected, and we know many of you feel the same.

We know many people will naturally wonder what can be done about these changes, but the reality is that Regency are entitled to run the business with whatever staffing levels they feel are appropriate. Some Regency parks don’t have an office at all, so in many ways we’re still in a better position than others.

What really matters - and what we’ll be keeping an eye on - is whether these changes have any negative impact on how the site is run. That’s the true measure of whether action is needed, and it’s something that can only be judged over time, particularly over the next 12 months leading up to the 2027 pitch fee review.

Summary

To summarise the changes:

• Ground Control will continue to maintain the site.
• For tasks outside their remit, Regency have a pool of approved contractors who can be called upon as needed.
• The office remains in place, but there will be days when it isn’t open. It will still be available for those who need to visit - whether to pay bills, ask questions, or simply pop in for a chat.
• Head Office capacity is increasing, I've seen the ads - especially in accounts and customer services, making it quicker and easier for residents to call, pay bills, and manage things online.

We hope this helps explain the changes.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected].