Local profit-for-purpose property company BEC is celebrating a milestone this month as its in-house grounds maintenance department turns one.

Created following the successful acquisition of local landscaping firm Greenlands Grounds Maintenance, it has allowed BEC to grow its facilities services offering across its portfolio and beyond.

As part of its portfolio, the team looks after Westlakes Science and Technology Park, near Whitehaven, which BEC runs.

Steven Parry, who founded Greenlands Grounds Maintenance and joined BEC to lead the new team following the acquisition, said: “I’ve been overwhelmed with the care and support from the rest of the BEC team.

"We’ve achieved a lot in 2018 but 2019 will be a bigger and better year for us – we want the beautiful grounds at Westlakes to become an award-winning asset and will be working hard to make this dream a reality.”

Steven and his team – David Bond and Chris Talahoma – have undertaken a major restoration project of the main pond and surrounding paths that were suffering from wear and tear.

In line with BEC’s low carbon golden thread, the team has also initiated Westlakes’ first green waste recycling programme. Under Steven’s guidance, the team has also brought new commercial contracts on to the books.

BEC’s chief executive Michael Pemberton said: “Steven and his team have been instrumental in shaping the working environment at Westlakes. The team has brought us many proud moments over the past year."