We are responsible for maintaining public parks and open spaces in the district including our sports pitches and cemeteries. Our maintenance includes:
- cutting grassed areas
- planting and tending flower and shrub beds and hanging baskets
- trimming hedges and bushes
- emptying litter bins and clearing litter
- marking out sports pitches
- ensuring that play equipment is safe
- keeping footpaths and fencing for which we are responsible in good repair
We also carry out some highway verge cutting for Essex County Council.
All of our parks have a dedicated team of staff who pride themselves on delivering a high standard of grounds maintenance. Mobile gardening teams regularly visit sites to make sure we maintain these standards.
If you notice a problem in one of our parks or open spaces, or think we have missed something during our routine maintenance, you can report it online.
To complete this form you will need to tell us:
- your name, address and contact details
- information about the problem and where you saw it
- the date and time you saw the problem
Grass cutting
We maintain roadside verges and open grassy areas, such as parks and open spaces. However, some areas may be cut by the local town or parish council to a different standard.
We aim to cut the grass every 20 working days.
We are unable to cut the grass:
- when there is excessive rainfall
- during the height of summer, i.e middle of July to middle of August
Areas that have been rewilded or left to naturalise receive a single cut in the autumn each year.
We do not cut grassed areas on privately owned land including that owned by social landlords.
Rural Highway Verges
Essex County Council (ECC) are responsible for rural highway verge cutting in Essex.
In the Braintree district we undertake this function on behalf of ECC and provide a single annual cut of the verges in Autumn.
Where a need is justified, you can request a safety cut to verges to maintain clear sight at junctions, road splays and roundabouts etc.
Some parish councils have their own arrangements with the Highways Authority to cut the highway verges in their parish.
Grave maintenance service
Our staff maintain the grounds in our four Cemeteries and can provide a chargeable grave maintenance service on request. You can find more information on our cemeteries page.
Commercial grounds maintenance service
If you are looking for a professional and reliable grounds maintenance service, look no further. We have experienced staff who can deliver a wide range of services to help ensure that your public facing areas always project the right image.
You can contact our Customer Services Team for a free, no obligation quote .
Verge cutting schedule
We have published our verge cutting schedule for autumn which covers the period from September to the end of October 2023.
Verge cutting reports
We took part in a trial with Essex County Council to leave sections of rural road verges in central Braintree uncut until the autumn, in a new environmentally friendly trial.
To find out more information, you can read our verge cutting reports for the previous two years: