Short answer

If different parts of an area get different work — different frequencies, different specifics, different contractors — split it into separate assets. If the same job is done to the whole thing in one go, keep it as one.

Detail

The classic tell is when a contract schedule says something like:

Enclosed Play Area — close-cut grass and strim; cut vegetation on bank to 1m from wall — Fortnightly.

That's one frequency but two different specifics: the play-area grass is a normal close-cut, the bank gets a 1m vegetation cut. Modelled as a single asset, you can only set one task description. Modelled as two assets — "Jubilee Park Play Area" and "Jubilee Park Play Area — Bank" — both go into the same fortnightly grass-cut routine, but each task carries its own description.

The general rule:

  • Same job, same instructions, done in one pass → one asset. A pathway, a verge, a play area treated as a unit.
  • Different jobs, different specifics, or different frequencies → separate assets. The play area vs the bank around it. A wall vs the wildflower border in front of it. A path vs the grass either side.
  • Different ownership or contractor responsibility → separate assets. Even if the work is similar, splitting makes it cleaner if the council's volunteer group does one part and the contractor does the other.

Polygon assets are the right tool when splitting — draw the bank as its own polygon, draw the play area as its own polygon, and they nest naturally on the map.

Watch-outs

  • Don't split for the sake of granularity. If two things really do get the same job, in the same pass, with the same instruction, keeping them as one asset reduces clutter on the map and on the field worker's task list.
  • When you split, name the new sub-asset using the parent's name as a prefix ("Jubilee Park Play Area — Bank") so they group together in the asset list and so the location is obvious.
  • Bulk imports often arrive as one geometry per area; expect to do some splitting work after a council's first map pass.