You should keep your garden tidy by cutting the lawn and trimming the hedges. If the garden is overgrown - and there are no good reasons why you can't keep it tidy - the council can clear it and charge you for the work. If you are an older of disabled person, the council may be able to help you keep your garden tidy - see our Independent Living page.
Responsibility for particular repairs in gardens is generally as follows:
As a council tenant, you are not allowed to plant 'forest trees' or Leylandii trees, and must get permission from your estates officer to plant any other variety of tree. Forest trees are unsuitable because of their high water intake, which is made worse by dry weather and clay soil in this area, and can lead to subsidence.
Leylandii trees are considered unsuitable because of their vigorous growth and high maintenance. You need to get permission before planting any other type of tree to make sure trees are not planted too close to properties, to make sure you are aware of maintenance responsibilities, and to keep neighbour nuisance to a minimum.
Tenants are responsible for the maintenance of existing trees, except those older or disabled tenants who qualify for assistance. The council will take necessary action to prevent or repair damage caused by trees on its land. This may result in the tenant being recharged for its maintenance or removal.
It is the council's policy that open spaces on housing land must be kept clean, tidy and free from excessive growth of grass and weeds. The council employs a grounds maintenance contractor to carry out grass cutting, weeding and maintenance of open spaces.
If you see an area that you think needs attention, please contact your local office, who will contact the grounds maintenance team.
Your wheelie bins will be collected weekly on a given day. This day will be the same throughout the year except when there is a Bank Holiday in the week, when services will be disrupted and days will change. You can obtain a wheelie bin collection diary from your local office, or from the website at www.thurrock.gov.uk/waste which will tell you when your bin will be emptied in the event of a bank holiday, or you can call the contact centre on 01375 652652 or e-mail waste@thurrock.gov.uk
Vehicle breakdowns can affect the day of your bin collection. In the event of a breakdown, leave your bin out for collection and the refuse service will empty your bins as soon as possible.
If your bin is not emptied on the scheduled day, please contact your local office or call the refuse department on the above phone number.
You should put your bin out for collection by 7am on the morning it is to be emptied.
Thurrock Council operates a regular schedule for collecting domestic waste from all properties in the borough. Waste for disposal or recycling is collected from green/grey, blue and brown wheeled bins on a weekly basis.
For details of the items that can be recycled, please visit:
For further details, please call the contact centre on 01375 652652, or you can e-mail waste@thurrock.gov.uk
The council, in partnership with Cleanaway provides a bulky refuse service. If you have large items of rubbish that need removing, contact your local office or the contact centre (01375 652652). You need to provide details of exactly what it is you want removing. For further information and charges for this service view the household bulky waste collections information page.
There are about 100 illegal 'dumping' sites across Thurrock. These are cleaned on a regular schedule by staff from the Street Cleaning Service. If you see an incident of fly tipping, call 01375 652955. It should be dealt with by the end of the following day. However, there are occasions when special removal arrangements are required. This includes cleaning in private alleys across the borough. When you call to report fly tipping, you will need to tell the customer service advisor where the problem is and what has been dumped.
The removal of rubbish from fly tippers is not only an eyesore to local residents, but it also causes a nuisance and is very expensive to remove.
Anybody caught fly tipping anywhere in the borough (either in person or by CCTV camera) WILL be prosecuted.
Generally, all streets are cleaned every 10 working days. However, we focus on certain areas, such as town centres, school routes, and main 'feeder' roads.
There are several teams of cleaning staff who work throughout Thurrock, they are:
The team work on a 10-day cycle, ensuring that footpaths are cleaned of litter, dog dirt and weeds. They also make sure that back lanes are kept clear of weed growth and silt.
Litter picking should take place on grass verges, flowerbeds and hedgerows, and other areas where litter tends to build up.
These staff cover town areas and busier routes, they are required to follow the same guidelines as the litter pickers, and clean most routes on a daily basis.
There is a mobile cleansing team in each Area Assembly district. These teams are responsible for cleaning: shop fronts; school routes; A13 lay-bys; and light dumping.
Mobile teams also provide a 'reactionary' service - that is, they react to reports of paper spillages, broken glass, etc.
There are four mechanical sweepers who cover approximately 556km of highway on a 10-day cycle. They also provide a 'reactionary' service.
These four high-speed green machines have brought a new dimension to street cleaning in Thurrock. They are fast, efficient and manoeuvrable. They are able to clean all areas, highway and pavements without causing damage. There is one machine based in each Area Assembly.
These machines will be used to clean cycle paths, main routes etc. They will also provide a 'reactionary' service.
If you have an enquiry or complaint about street cleaning, please call 01375 652955 and speak to a customer service advisor. You will need to give your name and address, and tell them what the problem is and where it is. Enquiries/complaints will usually be investigated within three working days.
If you see a streetlight that is not working, you can contact your local office, or contact the street lighting department direct on 01375 652210 between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday. Please give the location of the street lamp and its number. If the light is on a housing estate, a walkway, or on the side of the house, a different team deals with it. You can again contact your local office, who will report it for you, or call 01375 652358.
If you find a problem in a road or pathway (eg potholes, broken kerbs or broken or loose paving stones), call the highways department on 01375 652222 between 9am and 3 pm Monday to Friday, or contact your local housing office, who will report it for you. Please note that the pathway between your front door and your front gate is the responsibility of the housing department, and should be reported to your local office or the repairs call centre (0800 074 0169).
Car parks or parking areas can only be used by tenants and residents for parking a private or light commercial vehicle. Any commercial vehicle with an unladen weight of more than two and a half tonnes cannot to be parked on council land.
The council will keep all car parks and parking areas clean, tidy and safe.
Tenants of houses are allowed to park a roadworthy, private car in the garden of their property, as long as they follow the guidelines set out by the council. These are:
You must receive written permission from your estates officer at your local office before doing any work to accommodate a vehicle.
You may be allowed to park a caravan in the garden, providing you have written permission from your estate officer. The caravan must be a towing type vehicle, it must be roadworthy, and you must keep to the guidelines above. Under no circumstances is the caravan to be used as living accommodation.
To report an abandoned vehicle, call 01375 652955. Please make a note of the vehicle make, model, colour and registration number before you tell us about it.
After you have reported a vehicle, a council officer will put a sticker on it, warning the owner that the vehicle will be removed within 15 working days.
The officer will contact the police to find out if there is a registered owner for the vehicle, if there is, the owner will be contacted and asked to either make the vehicle roadworthy or to remove it in a given time. The officer will keep a record of this, and carry out checks to make certain that the arrangement is being kept.
If there is no owner, the vehicle will be removed by the council's contractors after the 15-day period is ended.
If you have a vehicle that is no longer required, the council will remove it for you free of charge. To use this service, write to Abandoned Cars, Street Scene Supervisor, Thurrock Council, Civic Offices, New Road, Grays, Essex RM17 6SL. Your letter must say that you give Thurrock Council permission to remove and destroy the vehicle. It needs to include:
The vehicle must be empty of rubbish and have all its wheels on.
The council has garages on several sites around the borough. To apply for a garage you must contact your local office and ask to be put on the waiting list. The waiting list will work in application date order and an officer will contact you as soon as your garage is available.
If you have any rent arrears, you will not be able to take a garage tenancy until you have paid them off.
You will be informed in writing how much the rent is on your garage and this should be paid weekly and will be added to your home rent account.
If you fall into arrears with your garage rent, you will be sent reminder letters as with your home rent. If you continue to fail to pay, the garage will be repossessed.
If you need any repairs on your garage, call the repairs call centre on 0800 074 0169 or call into your local office. You can also report garage repairs on the Internet by emailing repairs@thurrock.gov.uk.
The council provides a caretaking service to tenants and lessees of flats, maisonettes and some houses throughout the borough.
The main role of the caretaker is to:
When you move into your property, your estates officer should give you the name, telephone number (and if resident), the address of your caretaker.
Caretakers are on duty from 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday, 8am to 4pm Friday, and 8am to 10am Saturday and Sunday, dependent on where you live. If you need to contact a caretaker outside these hours, the council has an emergency caretaking service, which you can contact on 01375 372468.
| Service | Phone Number |
|---|---|
| Abandoned vehicles | 01375 652955 |
| Emergency repairs/caretaker | 01375 372468 |
| General council number | 01375 652652 |
| Housing services feedback | 0845 3005 263 |
| Refuse department | 01708 861316 or 01708 861687 |
| Repairs line | 0800 074 0169 |
