Essential council services will continue as normal in Tendring during the upcoming Christmas and New Year period.

Tendring District Council (TDC) will deliver essential frontline services and handle emergencies during the Christmas period, but its offices will be closed from 4pm on Tuesday, 24 December until they re-open again fully from 8.45am on Thursday, 2 January, 2025.

In an emergency which requires TDC’s assistance residents can contact the council’s Control Centre on 01255 222022, available 24/7.

Councillor Mark Stephenson, TDC Leader, thanked council staff who would be on-call or working during the festive break.

“We are proud of the services we provide for our residents and recognise the year-round important of some services to them,” he said.

“That is why we keep most of our frontline services going during the festive period, while urgent matters needing immediate attention will continue be dealt with, while other issues will be picked up in the New Year.

"This approach allows many of our staff to enjoy a break over Christmas – and I extend my heartfelt thanks to all staff members who keep TDC running during this period.

"On behalf of the council, I wish our residents and businesses a joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year."

Waste and recycling collections will continue, with some changes around the bank holidays. TDC is working with its contractor Veolia Environmental Services to minimise disruption.

Families are also being reminded that they still have time before Christmas to book tickets for the spell-binding production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is being staged at TDC’s Princes Theatre, in Clacton, from 7 to 29 December.

The ground-breaking panto experience promises a visual spectacle like no other, with the audience being handed 3D glasses for special sections of the standard show.

Tickets for the show are available now from the Princes Theatre website at princestheatre.co.uk or by calling the Box Office at 01255 686633 (Option 1).

People can find further information on TDC’s Christmas services web page, which will be updated with full details of seasonal changes to services at tendringdc.uk/pages/christmas.