Looking after our parks

Property damage or litter in a park or children's playground

How to report damaged play equipment or council property, broken glass, drug-related litter, full dog or litter bins, or locked and unlocked park gates.

Broken glass

We are keen to remove broken glass as quickly as possible, especially if it is in a well-used area, such as a children's playground.

If you find broken glass, don't attempt to pick it up - please report it using our online form.

Report broken glass

Damage to play equipment

Our playground equipment is inspected regularly by professional teams. When a problem is found, the area will be cordoned off until further action is taken. This action might involve replacement, repair or removal of the item. You can report damaged play equipment such as:

  • slides
  • swings
  • roundabouts
  • climbing frames
  • goal posts.

Report damage in a children's playground

Drug-related litter

This is given a high priority and we have specialist disposal methods. If you find drug-related litter, do not attempt to pick it up. Instead, please report it and provide as much information as possible about the location, especially if needles are involved, as they can be extremely hard to locate.

Report drug-related litter

Damage to council property

You can report damaged property, such as:

  • dog and litter bins
  • benches
  • fencing and gates
  • paths and manhole covers
  • buildings
  • planting
  • bollards
  • verges.

Please provide as much detail as possible about the location and the nature of the damage, including information and evidence concerning the perpetrator.

Report damage to council property

Graffiti

If you see graffiti in a park or playground, you can report it online through our graffiti web page.

Dog bin needs emptying

Dog bins are normally emptied twice a week. You can report a dog bin that is full or overflowing.

Report full dog bin

Litter bin needs emptying

You can report a park litter bin if it is overflowing.

Report full litter bin

Locked and unlocked parks

Some of our smaller and/or more enclosed parks are locked at night. The opening/locking times vary according to the time of year and are shown on the gates.

We advise visitors to make themselves aware of closing times and to ensure that they leave the park by that time. It is not practical for us to lock all parks simultaneously, so it is possible that a park will be locked at the advertised time on some days, and significantly later on other days.

Larger parks and most of our open spaces and woodland areas do not have fences and, therefore, cannot be locked.

You can report a park that hasn't been locked and is causing an issue, using our online form.

Report locked and unlocked parks

Page last updated: 09 Nov 2023