Latest News

Our Latest News page will give you a lot of information about Clearground Ltd and how we work. Feel free to comment.

Newly Sprayed Drainage & Jetting Tanker

Gully Sucker/ Jetting Tanker

We are pleased to finally be able to post some pictures of our newly sprayed gully sucker/ drainage jetting tanker. It's still to have the finishing touches and be sign written up with our new logo and QR code, but already it looks great! The name of the tanker is still under debate but "The Flying Pod" and the "The Daddy" are favourites amongst our team. The Flying Pod was named after our very first van which was pea green and earned itself the nickname the Flying Pea due to its appearance and how busy Clearground, http://www.clearground.co.uk became very early on, ensuring that this little van was all over Wirral and Liverpool attending various drainage and waste removal jobs. Of course then we didn't have the team of dedicated staff both in the office and on the ground, only our MD Phil Piercy who started Clearground Limited with this one van, himself and a lot of determination. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow" or in our case "great big tankers from little vans grow!" The jetting tanker should be on the road next week, ready to service all your jetting and drainage needs, http://www.clearground.co.uk/drainage/ not only providing a professional service at the right price, but looking good too! What more could you want?
 

Bee News
 

We've had an exciting week on the bee front, causing Phil no end of panic, (he loves it though). Part of our colony swarmed last Friday, luckily landing on a wall near to the Clearground offices. Phil was then able to scoop them up and keep them overnight in a box until a new hive could be built, (who knew that bees could be scooped up?) The very next morning Phil built another Hive and basically poured, (again who knew?) thousands of bees from the box into their new home. And just like that we now have 2 hives, lots of honey for us, mmmmm! Well done Phil, you do have your uses after all. (Only joking, I expect that's probably a sacking offence). We'll keep a close eye on both hives over the coming weeks to ensure that the new queens are laying and that all her workers are happy! Just like the staff at Clearground!!!
 

If you want more information about bees you can go to the British Bee Keeping website for more bee related information, http://www.bbka.org.uk/.
 

TTFN

By Lady P on 03/05/2012

Tags: drainage,jetting,gully,clearground,tanker,waste removal,bees,swarm,honey,hive,BBKA

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March News - Part 1

New Venture 

We are very proud and pleased to announce that we now provide a total waste management package, www.clearground.co.uk/waste-control-and-management , to one of our most prestigious clients, a major national hospitality group. From refuse collection to recycling and waste treatment, our aim is to provide these services for all our clients enabling you to have a “one stop shop” for all of your facility servicing needs. This addition to our contract portfolio puts us in a stronger position to offer a more complete service and choice to all our existing clients as well as any new ones.
 

Watch this space!

 

Question Time - Jane’s Interview

This month’s interview is with the longest serving member of our team, Jane Vickers, who is our Contracts Administrator. During her time with us, 5 years this month, Jane has undertaken most, if not all aspects of Administration and Accounts and knows all there is to know about Clearground Ltd, www.clearground.co.uk. She is an expert in all things excel, twitter, computers, all without being a total geek, and is our "go to girl" for most problems. In fact the most used phrase in our office is "Jaaaaane, I've broken the phone/pc/kettle/alarm/door/..... you get the picture. (As I write this Tony has just walked in requesting Jane find him a black felt tip pen, you know how hard they are to find in a office? You really can't make this stuff up). No wonder she can't wait for her hols in the lovely Isle of Skye!

LP -  In your time at Clearground, what have been the biggest changes that you have seen?

Jane - Since I started the number of office staff have tripled in size and also the turnover has too! One of the biggest changes was the office move in March 2010 from our old (freezing cold and slightly spooky) offices at Brassey Street to the newly renovated ones at Corporation Road. Being the devoted member of staff I am, I came in on my birthday to move 3 years’ worth of “stuff”, (sorry I mean very important documents and football memorabilia) into our new premises. It was a sad day to leave our old building but we all settled in very quickly to our new larger offices.

 

LP - As everyone who knows you Jane can testify, you skip into work on a Monday morning, ready for another busy day at Clearground. What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

Jane - That would have to be the analysis part of my job and creating forms and procedures, basically anything that involves excel! I also take pride in assisting our clients with any problems and knowing that customer care is an integral part of the service we provide.

 

LP - As anyone who works in administration is aware, it can be a frustrating job. What causes the most problems?

Jane - How long have you got?! When people don’t follow paperwork procedures that have been put into place to make everyone’s job easier, it drives me crackers! That's the beauty of ISO 9001 and 14001, which we have had for 5 and 4 years respectively. All our procedures are set out for all staff to adhere to and for any complaints, (which are few and far between thankfully) to be dealt with in a professional manner and to the satisfaction of our customers.      OH - And when Tony wants another cup of tea every five minutes!

 

LP - Finally, where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

Jane -  Hopefully still working for Clearground!

 

Next Time

Over the next few months, our team will be blogging individually, giving them a chance to put their opinions across. Next question time will be Tony Kearns, who who has been part of the team for 4 years. Tony is Sales Director, and comes from a waste management and pest control background with 23 years combined experience in these fields! As well as this he has a firm grasp on all things drainage http://www.clearground.co.uk/drainage/, window cleaning http://www.clearground.co.uk/high-level-window-cleaning/ , kitchen cleaning http://www.clearground.co.uk/kitchen-and-industrial-deep-cleaning, and high pressure cleaning http://www.clearground.co.uk/high-pressure-cleaning all gained whilst working for Clearground. 

 

 

By Lady P on 19/03/2012

Tags: waste management,refuse collection,waste recycling,waste treatment,ISO9001,ISO14001,drainage,window cleaning,kitchen cleaning,

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February News

Well spring is on it's way, and if the forecast is anything to go by it's going to be a nice couple of days. Time perhaps to look at spring cleaning your premises, which is where Clearground can help (http://www.clearground.co.uk). Ensuring that your windows are sparkling clean is our aim and our team of professional operatives are always happy to help. For all you restaurant and hotel owners we offer a kitchen deep cleaning service which can be scheduled to meet your requirements and minimise down time, enabling you to keep your high reputation for cleanliness and hygiene. We are proud to service a number of well known, high profile hotels in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham and match our high standards to that of these prestigious properties.
 

I mentioned in last month’s blog that we would be putting our MD Phil Piercy on the spot so here's his views on the growth of Clearground (http://www.clearground.co.uk).
 

Question Time
LP - Where did the idea for Clearground come from?
 

Phil - Funny you should ask Lady P... having recently been offered redundancy from my previous employer I was sitting in a field near Glastonbury Tor musing my uncertain future when I decided that I should stick to what I know best, which was at that time, all things drainage (http://www.clearground.co.uk/drainage/ . The next few weeks were spent deciding on a company name and what services we would provide. After much deliberation (and one or two bottles of vino), the name Clearground eventually stuck when I came up with the tagline, "Put clear ground between you and your problems". This then led us to adding waste management (http://www.clearground.co.uk/waste-control-and-management/) to our services and the story continues from there.
 

LP - Many companies have been struggling in recent times. How has the downturn in the economy affected Clearground?
 

Phil - I think that following on from Liverpool's Capital of Culture, we have been lucky to benefit from the overall investment in this area and throughout the North West, creating vibrant and exciting cities with leading hotels, modern offices and of course the world famous waterfront skyline. All of these properties require a high level of maintenance, which is where we come in.
 

LP - What is the most difficult part of running your own business?
 

Phil - Assembling a team that shares your commitment and vision can be challenging, but I have been lucky to have had many of the same great staff for a number of years, that not only share but enhance the aims and objectives of Clearground. From Accounts, Operations, Sales and Administration, every member plays a pivotal role in the delivery of our services. Whether it is cleaning student accommodation at the end of term, getting rid of gulls at a waste transfer site, high level window cleaning in one of Manchester's flagship hotels or drainage unblocking in Birmingham, every member of staff is key, and not to be underestimated.
 

LP - Finally Phil, as part of the Governments' New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, you have successfully mentored two new business startups in this area, what advice would you give to a young entrepreneur just starting out?
 

Phil - Research your market, be prepared for a lot of hard work and setbacks, take all the help you can whether it be from schemes such as business link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home, or friends and family, and you must be 100% committed to making your business work.
 

Next Time

Over the next few months, our team will be blogging individually, giving them a chance to put their opinions across. Next up, it's Jane, who apart from Phil is our longest serving member of the team. Jane is Operations Administrator and knows the company inside and out. (Watch out, she knows all the inside secrets!)
 

By Lady P. on 23/02/2012

Tags: Drainage, Window Cleaning, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Business Link, cleaning student accomodation, gulls,

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January News

We have finally decided on the colours of our new medium volume tanker and have added some "before" pictures below, but we'll keep you in suspense for a wee bit longer! We thought it was about time that we updated our company image, as we have changed a lot in the 8 years we have been trading. We will show you the finished article with our updated colours and logo once resprayed and sign written, watch this space!

Our MD has agreed to be put on the spot and answer some questions about the growth of Clearground Ltd and we will be putting him under the spotlight in the next blog. From our first little vehicle the "flying pea" to our newest and largest vehicle, the tanker as yet un-named. If you have any suggestions for a name please send them in. Some ideas already - The Flying Pod, The Daddy, Cloud9, Big Bob and Dave's Tanker.

Uniforms - We thought it was about time that we treated our lads to some new uniforms which will be with us soon. Look out for them in their new togs!

Bees - Our bees popped out for a look last week, testatment to the mild weather we have been having, but obviously as soon as the temperature dropped they were back inside enjoying the feed made up from them by our resident beekeeper Phil. We'll be monitoring them over the next few months and looking forward to getting our hands on some honey later in the year. If you are interested in beekeeping see the link below for the Britsih Bee Keeping Association. It's a great way to help your environment and very relaxing too.

http://www.bbka.org.uk/

Our new meeting room has been recently refurbished and is awaiting it's first visitors to discuss all things drainage, pest control and waste removal, (not to mention all the other services we provide). The only problem now will be who makes the tea?

Tally Ho!
 

By Lady P on 01/02/2012

Tags: Medium Volume Tanker, Bees, honey, beekeeping, BBKA, drainage, pest control, waste removal

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all our customers. We hope that you have had a peaceful and relaxing break, and that like us are well rested and prepared for the busy months ahead. We are looking forward to the commencement of a new window cleaning contract at one of Liverpool's finest boutique hotels, and a luxury apartment complex and are proud to be servicing such prestigious addresses.

As well as this we have been servicing the window cleaning at one of Birmingham's newest landmark buildings, enabling us to expand our portfolio of clients and our coverage of the Midlands in our quest to become the best National Service Providor in our field. 

Here's to the New Year, onwards and upwards!

New Staff

We are pleased to welcome Sarah and Derek to our expanding team. We are pleased to have employed Sarah through the ILM program in conjunction with Wirral Borough Council. Sarah is an addition to our admin team and has already made a significant contribution to the office. Derek is heading up our ever expanding Operations Team and is a valuable asset on the front line. Welcome to you both from the rest of the team.

New Equipment

We have recently purchased a Medium Volume Tanker as an addition to our Drainage Team which will enable us to service our clients more efficiently and effectively. It will be used for drain unblocking and waste removal where required and has already been booked on a number of jobs. A respray is in the pipeline and will be undertaken when we can spare it for a couple of weeks, (not that we're complaining as it is very busy). Before and after pictures to follow. Watch this space!

Goldman Sachs Foundation

Clearground is extremely proud to have been selected as a participant on the 10,000 Small Businesses programme in the North West.

10,000 Small Businesses is designed to unlock the economic and job creation potential of small businesses and social enterprises operating in the United Kingdom. The programme is targeted at small businesses and social enterprises with clear ambitions to expand. The goal of the programme is to provide participants with tools and resources to help them lay the foundation for long-term sustainable growth and job creation in their communities.

10,000 Small Businesses is funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and is delivered in the North West in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University Business School

http://www.10ksbnw.co.uk 
 

By Claire Piercy on 06/01/2012

Tags: ILM, Wirral Borough Council,Medium Volume Tanker, Drainage,drain unblocking,waste removal,pipeline,goldman sachs,

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