Tree Removal in Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire — Felling & Dismantling

Tree Removal — FAQs

• Do I need permission to remove a tree?

  Sometimes, and it is a criminal offence to get it wrong. Permission is required if the tree carries a Tree Preservation Order, and six weeks notice must be served on the council if it stands in a conservation area. Unauthorised work on a protected tree carries an unlimited fine, and the liability sits with the property owner rather than the contractor. We search the correct council register against your address before quoting, at no charge, and make the application where one is needed.

• Which council do I apply to?

  It depends on the address rather than the postal town, and the two often disagree. A Chesterfield postal address may fall under Chesterfield Borough or North East Derbyshire District. Hucknall is Ashfield, not Gedling. Nottingham addresses split between the City, Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe. A notice served on the wrong authority is not a valid notice, so we confirm which one covers you before anything is submitted.

• How much does tree removal cost?

  It is priced per job, and the biggest factor is rarely the tree itself. Height and diameter matter, but access matters more: a tree that can be felled into open ground is a fraction of the cost of the same tree dismantled in sections over a conservatory. Species, decay, rigging requirements, proximity to buildings and the volume of waste all feed in. Quotes are free and always written, and our tree surgery prices page explains what moves the number.

• What is the difference between felling and dismantling?

  Felling means cutting the tree so it falls in one piece in a controlled direction, which needs a clear drop zone roughly as long as the tree is tall. Dismantling means taking it down in sections, lowering each piece on ropes, and is what most urban removals require. Dismantling is slower and costs more, but on a terraced plot or anywhere near a building it is the only safe method.

• How long does a tree removal take?

  Most domestic removals are done within a day. A straightforward fell in an open garden can take a couple of hours; a large sectional dismantle with restricted access and a long carry for the arisings can run to two days. We give you a realistic duration in the written quote rather than a best case, and if we think it will need two visits we say so before you book.

• Can you remove a tree in a tight or awkward spot?

  Yes — it is most of what we do. Sectional dismantling with rigging allows removal within a few feet of a building, over a conservatory, or between a house and a boundary wall. The common Nottinghamshire cases are Victorian back gardens reachable only through the house and terraces with no rear vehicle access. Send a photograph of the access route with your enquiry and we can usually tell you the method and the price before visiting.

• What happens to the timber and branches?

  Everything is cleared as standard unless you want to keep some of it. Brushwood is chipped and taken away, and larger timber is cross-cut into manageable lengths. Plenty of customers keep the cordwood for a log burner, in which case we cut it to your preferred length and stack it wherever you want it, which also reduces the amount we have to haul away.

• Is stump grinding included in the price?

  No, it is quoted separately, because plenty of people are happy to leave a stump and there is no sense charging everyone for it. If you want the ground clear for turfing, planting or a fence, say so at quoting and we will price grinding alongside the removal — doing both on the same visit is cheaper than bringing a machine back. See stump grinding for what that involves.

• What should I do if a tree suddenly becomes dangerous?

  Ring us on 07949 268926 rather than using the form, at any hour. Keep people and vehicles away from the area underneath and from the fall zone in the direction it is leaning. Sudden lean, a cracking sound, soil lifting or splitting around the base, or a limb hanging in the crown all mean the tree has already failed structurally and may come down without further warning. Do not try to prop it or cut anything yourself.

• Can you work in bad weather?

  Climbing work stops in high wind, and that is not negotiable — a climber in a moving crown cannot control a cut. Heavy rain and ice make ropes, timber and ground conditions unpredictable. We will postpone rather than take the risk, and we will tell you as early as we can. Emergency make-safe work is the exception: if something has already failed we will attend and stabilise it in conditions we would not choose for planned work.

• How do you keep the job safe?

  A written risk assessment and method statement before we start, an agreed drop zone and escape routes, exclusion of everyone not working on the job, and rigging rated well above the loads involved. Our climbers are NPTC-certified including aerial rescue, which means a second climber can get an injured colleague down rather than waiting for a ladder. We carry £5 million public liability and full employer's liability cover.

• Will removing the tree change my garden?

  Yes, and it is worth thinking about before you commit. Light levels change immediately, which affects whatever was growing in the shade. Soil moisture changes too: a mature tree moves a great deal of water, and on the shrinkable clay around Chesterfield and parts of Nottingham removing one can cause ground heave over following seasons. Neighbouring trees that grew up sheltered by it become newly wind-exposed. We will raise any of this that applies to your plot.

• What is hinge wood?

  The hinge is a band of uncut timber deliberately left between the felling cut and the directional notch, and it is what steers the tree as it goes over. Too thick and the tree will not fall; too thin and it tears off and the tree goes wherever it wants. Getting hinge thickness and taper right for the species and lean is the single most important control in directional felling, and it is a large part of what NPTC felling certification actually tests.