The Parks and Open Spaces Committee was created from two former committees, Environment and Recreation. Many of the items managed by the previous separate committees overlapped, so this committee was formed in 2017 and is currently under the chairmanship of Cllr. Andrew Watley.
It has recently overseen the introduction of new play equipment at the Walter Hobbs and Ted Marriage Fields both of which will also have zip wire installations by the end of the year. The Mill Lane Play Area is also undergoing a planned transformation in 2021 while Tipps Cross Remembrance Hall has gained a new outdoor basketball/netball facility. All of these projects have involved gaining grants from funding organisations to help meet the cost. Acting on the advice of arboreal consultants, The Green is undergoing a planned period of work to ensure the trees on this treasured resource remain healthy and safe. The figure-of-eight path is also due for renewal on Millennium Park and will be relaid with lorry loads of shells transported from Leigh on Sea once the cockle season reopens.
The highly-praised Christmas lights at Kiln Field and Horsefayre Green are also organised by this committee and additional strings of LED bulbs — along with an electrician and a cherry-picker hoist — will be employed to add to the displays for December 2021.
Twice-yearly litter-picking events are aimed at clearing at least some of the discarded rubbish that disfigures the roadside and verges in the parish. Rounding up volunteers for this task also falls to this committee.