Tree Surgery FAQs

Yes. The emergency line is answered by a person around the clock, every day of the year. Quotations and planned bookings are handled during office hours.

Emergency call-outs start from around £180 + VAT. A small garden tree removal typically runs £250–£450 + VAT; a domestic crown reduction £350–£900; stump grinding from £90. The variables are size, access, risk and what happens to the arisings — which is why a proper quote follows a site visit rather than a phone call.

Usually because the two contractors are quoting different jobs. One is pricing a proper sectional dismantle with everything roped down and cleared; the other is pricing a fast drop-and-go, or a topping job described as a reduction. Ask for the specification in writing in BS3998 terms and the difference becomes visible immediately.

Only if the tree is protected — by a Tree Preservation Order, by being in a conservation area, or by a planning condition on a newer estate. We check the district council register and the conservation-area boundary for your address before quoting and tell you either way in writing.

It is the six weeks' written notice you must give the council before working on any tree over 75mm diameter (measured at 1.5m) inside a conservation area, whether or not it has a TPO. The council uses that window to decide whether to protect the tree with a new TPO. We prepare and submit it as part of the job.

For destroying a protected tree or damaging it so it is likely to die, the offence can be tried in the Crown Court where the fine is unlimited. Lesser offences carry fines up to £2,500 per tree in the magistrates' court. There is also usually a legal duty to plant a replacement.

Yes, back to the boundary line, provided the tree is not protected. The cuttings legally remain the tree owner's property, so you should offer them back. You cannot cut beyond the line, and you cannot cut a protected tree without consent even where the branch is over your garden.

The tree remains theirs, but they are only liable for the damage if they were negligent — broadly, if the tree was visibly defective and they failed to act. A healthy tree brought down by an exceptional storm is generally treated as an act of God, with each party claiming on their own policy. Photograph everything before clearance.

Late autumn through winter for most broadleaves: dormant, no leaves, no nesting birds, and the structure is visible. Prune Prunus species (cherry, plum) in summer to avoid silver leaf. Avoid heavy work between March and August where nesting is likely.

Ground protection boards go down where machinery has to cross soft ground, and we work off them rather than tracking a chipper across wet turf. Some marking is unavoidable on heavy clay in winter; we will tell you honestly beforehand rather than after.

Always. Brash is chipped and taken away, the site is raked and blown down, and cordwood is either removed or stacked for you if you want it. Say at the quote stage.

Yes — £10 million public liability plus employer's liability. We send the certificate before work starts. If any contractor cannot produce theirs on request, do not let them start.

Chalara ash dieback is a fungal disease that has spread through the UK ash population. It is widespread across Leicestershire. Infected trees become brittle unpredictably and can fail without the warning signs a normally decaying tree gives. If you have ash within falling distance of anything that matters, have it inspected annually and act while it is still safe to climb.

Armillaria — a soil-borne fungus that colonises dead root systems and then spreads to attack living plants. Signs are honey-coloured toadstools in autumn, white mycelial sheets under the bark at the base, and black bootlace rhizomorphs in the soil. Removing dead stumps and root plates is part of controlling it.