Gardens and garden sheds

Maintaining your garden

Maintaining your garden includes:

• cutting grass, hedges and shrubs
• pruning trees
• weeding
• keeping your garden free from any rubbish
• repairing your washing line or rotary dryer
• putting garden waste in your brown bin
• keeping your shed in a good condition

Sunderland City Council offer a garden waste collection that costs £34.50 a year. Find out more about Sunderland City Council’s garden waste collection.

Getting help to maintain your garden

Some people may need help to maintain their garden. We offer a gardening service from May to October for customers who:

• we assess as having a vulnerability
• have no family or friends to help them with their garden

Each visit costs £20 and we tidy your garden, weed and cut your grass.

We may decide to charge you more than £20 or not maintain your garden if it is:

• too large
• overgrown with trees, hedges and shrubs
• full of rubbish or debris

If you want help to maintain your garden, call 0191 525 5000 and select option 4.

Changes to your garden

You need our permission for a shed or outbuilding in your garden.

To ask for permission to change your garden, call 0191 525 5000 and select option 4.

We never give permission for:

• decking
• hot tubs
• ponds
• lights that connect to the main power