Services

Tendring District Council look after abandoned vehicles around town (and across the whole District), you can find out how to report one on their website here.

Brightlingsea Winterfest is launching a Brightlingsea accessibility map for visitors and residents. This unique initiative will allow the user to scan a QR code, where they will be given accessibility information to the retail business or organisation. For more information please visit:- https://visitbrightlingsea.co.uk/accessibility-information/

Essex County Council

Includes social care help, advice on disabilities and health conditions, Blue Badge, paying for care and support for carers.

Brightlingsea Town Council is responsible for all of the allotments around town, find out more on the Allotments page.

You can report anti social behaviour, during office hours to Tendring District Council on 01255 686359 or by using their new reporting tool here.

What can I report to Tendring District Council – ASB Team

• Nuisance from cars / bikes (loud music emanating from vehicles / Anti-Social Driving, incl Speeding / mini moto’s / loud motorbikes / loud exhausts). This does not include Parking issues.
• Flyposting
• Vandalism / Criminal Damage
• Graffiti
• Street drinking
• Begging
• Low Level ASB
• Neighbour Disputes

The Council ASB Team will not usually act in circumstances such as the following:

• One-off noisy party within reasonable times
• Normal living noises, such as walking across the floor, closing doors, flushing the toilet etc
• Noise from children playing
• Personal differences/family disputes
• Disagreements about parking
• Civil disputes such as boundary issues
• Groups of young people gathering who are not acting in an intimidating manner

What shall I Report to Essex Police.

• Criminal damage
• Hoax calls to emergency services
• Intimidation / harassment
• Drug / substance misuse and drug dealing
• Prostitution
• Violence
• Knife Crime
• Domestic Abuse
• Exploitation in all forms

Reports to Essex Police can be made via call 999 in an emergency, 101 in non-emergencies or by using the live chat function on Essex Police Website

Essex County Council has a section on their website with lots of information and relevant links for the Social Care services it provides the county. Find it here.

Different benefits are provided by various authorities, here are the relevant links for:

Tendring District Council benefits page Tendring handle Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.

Essex County Council Benefits Section.

National government provides most benefits.

The benefits calculator on .gov.uk is a good start point.

If you are in financial difficulty then you should consider talking to one of the national debt advice charities such as Stepchange or approaching the Citizens Advice Bureau (who can also offer advice on benefits as well).

Tendring District Council is responsible for all refuse collections and recycling points (apart from commercial waste).

To find your bin collection days please click here.

If you have had a missed waste collection please contact Tendring District Council here.

If you need a replacement red or green recycling bin, or food waste caddies (and bags), these are available at the Parish Hall.

If you wish to report and fly-tipping incident, click here.

Births, Ceremonies and Deaths are all under the remit of Essex County Council. You can find out more on their website here.

Blue badges can be applied for or renewed with Essex County Council here.

Brightlingsea Town Council has now taken over the running and management of the Boat Park in Brightlingsea. If you would like to apply for a space please click here to fill out an application form and return to the Parish Hall, Victoria Place, Brightlngsea, CO7 0BP or email admin@brightlingseatowncouncil.gov.uk.

Aside from school buses (please contact the school about these here) the 87 First Bus which serves Brightlingsea, (from Thorrington you can change buses to go to Clacton), Alresford and Wivenhoe (for the train stations) and Colchester Town & Mainline Rail Stations.

You can pick this up at various stops around town and you can find the full timetable here. This timetable is new and is valid from 22nd February 2026.

For news, service updates and planned changes please click here.

There is also a new bus service being introduced from 22nd February 2026 which is run by Konectbus and to view the timetable, please click here.

Tendring District Council collects Business Rates for Brightlingsea, find out more here.

The Citizens Advice Bureau currently visit the Parish Hall every Wednesday. They are available for both drop-ins and appointments. Appointments can be made by calling 01255 377080.

Council Tax is sent out every year in April by Tendring District Council, for more information please see Council Tax | Tendring District Council (tendringdc.gov.uk)

If you are in immediate danger call 999.  If you wish to report a crime, you can call 101 or report on line here.

For dead animal removal contact Tendring District Council on 01255 686868 and ask for Environmental Services. 

If you are in financial difficulty then you should consider talking to one of the national debt advice charities such as Stepchange or approaching the Citizens Advice Bureau (who can also offer advice on benefits as well).

Should you witness somebody allowing their dog to foul where it shouldn’t, please report it to Tendring District Council on 01255 686868.

To report a dog bin that needs emptying, please use the reporting form at Tendring District Council here or call 01255 686868.

To report a stray dog, if you have lost your dog or if you can no longer care for your dog, please visit here or contact the Dog Warden on 01255 686766 or email dogwarden@tendringdc.gov.uk

To report a blocked drain, please contact Essex County Council on 0345 603 7631 or report here.

For admissions, emergency school closure, term times and holidays please visit here.

The next elections will take place in May 2027, for both District and Local Councillors.  For more information regarding elections and the latest results for this year and our new Councillors, please visit Tendring District Council here.

Please click here to access Tendring District Council’s Environmental Services page.

Please click the link here to access information at Tendring District Council for Out of Hours emergencies. They can be contacted via telephone on 01255 222022.

The latest newsletter from Essex Police which is full of information including “You Said, We Did” and details of Community Lets Talk Events.

Your Local Update – January 2026

Your Local Update – February 2026

Your Local Update – March 2026

Your Local Update – April 2026

Your Local Update – May 2026

Your local fire station is located at Lower Park Road, Brightlingsea, CO7 0BP, telephone number 01376 576600.  Brightlingsea Fire Station is an on-call fire station and there training takes place on a Thursday night.  In the event of an emergency call 999. 

Brightlingsea Food Bank operates from the Parish Hall every Wednesday between 10.00 am and 12.30 pm.  For enquiries regarding the Food Bank, please telephone Win Pomroy on 07970 480968 or 01206 303902.

Brightlingsea has many footpaths and rights of way, which you can see in the map below (click to expand, right click to download), or in this PDF document, or on the map affixed to the outside of the Parish Hall. Maintenance of footpaths comes under Essex County Council, to report a fault please visit here.

Please contact the Parish Hall on 01206 303535 to report unauthorised graffiti. 

Grass is cut in Brightlingsea by both Brightlingsea Town Council Grounds Staff and Tendring District Council.  Should you wish to report overgrown grass, please contact the Parish Hall on 01206 303535.  To view the cutting schedule at Tendring District Council please visit here.

Please contact the Harbour Office direct on 01206 302200, visit their website here or email them at mail@brightlingseaharbour.org.

For a medical emergency ring 999, the out of hours service is 111 and for your local GP practice, contact Colne Medical Centre, Station Road, Brightlingsea, CO7 ODT or telephone 01206 302522.

For advice regarding homelessness please contact Tendring District Council on 01255 686868 and ask to speak to the Housing Solutions Team or email them on housingoptions@tendringdc.gov.uk.

For all housing enquiries please visit here

Your local library is situated at New Street, Brightlingsea, CO7 0BZ, telephone number 0845 603 7628.

For all licencing enquiries you should contact Tendring District Council on 01255 686868 or visit their website here.

Noise pollution can be distressing, there is plenty of information regarding this on the Tendring District Council website here.

Did you know you can hire the Parish Hall? Contact the Town Clerk for more information, ring 01206 303535.

For more information regarding parking or to renew your registration should you change your vehicle, please contact Parking Services on 01255 686969. To register with the Mipermit app, please visit here.

Bayard Recreation Ground, is an award winning ground, situated in Regent Road, which is used by many sporting groups during the year. We also have the recently refurbished Pawsons Playground and Basketball Court and the skate park located on the Western Promenade and Lower Park playing field on Lower Park Road. Hurst Green which is very popular in the summer for picnics and of course the Brightlingsea Music Festival.   Should you have any queries regarding any of these sites, please contact the Parish Hall on 01206 303535 or via our contact form here.

Pavements are the responsibility of Essex County Council, to report a fault online please click here.

Tendring District Council no longer provide a pest control service for residents of domestic and commercial properties in the Tendring District. However, there is lots of useful information, on their website, which can be found here.

Brightlingsea Town Council is a ‘statutory consultee’ for all planning applications made to the planning authority (Tendring District Council).

This means the council’s planning committee is able to comment on and choose to support, object or remain neutral on planning applications affecting the Town.

You can find out more about the Brightlingsea Town Council Planning Committee here, and the Tendring District Council planning department/processes here.

Essex County Council handles some planning applications, mainly to do with minerals, waste, highways and county council developments. You can see more on that here.

Pawsons playground is located at Promenade Way, Brightlingsea, CO7 0LW and Bayard Recreation Ground is at Regent Road, CO7 0NL.

For enquiries regarding pollution or to report an issue contact Tendring on 01255 686868 or email environmental.services@tendringdc.gov.uk

Potholes fall under the remit of Essex County Council. You can report potholes and track the progress on the report here.

If you find this system difficult to use, you can also report potholes via the Parish Hall – just pop in or email the Town Clerk.

To report any parking issues you can contact the North Essex Parking Partnership on 01206 282316 or parking@colchester.gov.uk

Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery are based in Eastern Road, they can be contacted on 01206 302719, their website can be viewed here www.brightlingsea.essex.sch.uk

The Colne Community School and College are based in Church Road, they can be contacted on 01206 303511, their website can be viewed here www.colne.essex.sch.uk

For information and advice regarding adult social care, contact Essex County Council on 0345 603 7630 or visit www.essex.gov.uk

For Social Services, contact Essex County Council on 0345 603 7630 or visit www.essex.gov.uk

To report a problem with a street light contact Essex County Council or report online at Tell us – Essex County Council (essexhighways.org)

For Street Trading information, please click the following link here.

To see the list of permitted areas in Tendring, click here.

Brightlingsea Town Council has a tourism panel and you can contact the Councillors responsible for this on 01206 303535 or www.brightlingseatowncouncil.gov.uk/contact or please visit www.visitbrightlingsea.co.uk

For all your waste and recycling queries, please visit here.

To view completed and planned works for the Western Promenade area of Brightlingsea, please click here.