Trees

What trees do the Council maintain?

We are responsible for all trees on Council owned land such as:

Open spaces
Recreation grounds
Formal gardens
Nature reserves
Council owned cemeteries
Council owned properties/estates

The Council inspects all its trees on Council maintained land with the exception of those in the gardens of Council owned housing stock.  Trees on the Highway are the responsibility of Essex County Council who can be contacted on

• Telephone: 0345 603 7631
• Report a highway fault online(link is external)

A Tree on a highway verge outside of my property needs Pruning, who do I contact?

If you are concerned a tree on the highway needs pruning please contact the Councils Open Spaces Department on 01255 686677. Your complaint will be logged and passed to our Tree Officer who will investigate and decide whether any work is necessary. Ultimately the decision to carry out work lies with Essex County Council.

I would like to request to have a tree planted on a highway verge, who do I contact?

Please contact Essex County Council Highways Department on 0345 603 7631. They administer all of the highway verges and deal with any tree planting requests or replacement of trees.

There is a tree blocking out light into my property, will the Council prune it?

There is no legal right to light and the Council will not prune or remove a healthy tree on this basis alone, however if there is a severe problem such as branches touching your property then please contact our office on  01255 686677 and we will carry out an inspection.

There is a tree causing problems with my television reception, will the Council prune it?

No, the Council will not prune or remove a healthy tree solely on the basis that it interferes with television signal.

There are a large amount of leaves / fruit falling from the tree outside of my property, what can be done about this?

The Council will not prune or remove a healthy tree due to falling fruit / leaves. This is a natural seasonal occurrence and is not within our control. If a large volume of leaves are causing a health and safety problem or blocking drains then please contact our Environmental Services Team on 01255 686788 who will investigate.

Roots from a highway tree are lifting the paving slabs, who do I report this to?

Please report this problem to Essex County Council Highways Department on 0345 603 7631. They are responsible for any damage/repair to the pavements/highway.

How can I find out if a tree has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO)?

Visit our Tree Preservation Orders page or contact our Planning Department on 01255 686155.

Where do I find information on applying for a memorial tree?

The Council will consider the planting of Memorial trees on open spaces where a fee is paid. Please visit our memorial tree page for further details and printable application form, alternatively you can contact us 01255 686677 or email openspaceenquiries@tendringdc.gov.uk(link sends e-mail) for further details.

I would like to report a dangerous tree / storm damage

If you see a tree on Council or public land that you consider is dangerous please call and let us know.  We will inspect the tree as a matter of urgency and take the necessary action to remove the danger.  When storms or high winds occur we will receive a high number of reports of damaged trees that might be dangerous. We will assess the level of urgency of each reported problem and will deal with them as quickly as we can in order of priority.

Our office hours are 8am to 5.15pm Monday - Thursday, 8am to 4.45pm Friday.

If you need to contact us please use the following numbers:

• Office hours: 01255 686677
• Out of hours: 01255 686362
• Email: openspaceenquiries@tendringdc.gov.uk(link sends e-mail)