Tree Work by the Numbers: Protection Rules, Timing and What Drives the Price

Tree work is easier to plan and to price when you know the figures behind it. These are the numbers that decide when work can happen, how much can be cut and what makes one quote higher than another, along with the simple charts that make them easy to follow.

Protection rules: 75mm, 1.5 metres and six weeks

• Tree Preservation Orders: written consent from the council is needed before pruning or felling a protected tree, even in a private garden
• Conservation areas: six weeks' written notice is normally needed before work on any tree with a trunk of 75mm or more in diameter, measured 1.5 metres above the ground
• Dead trees: one of the limited exceptions, but notice is usually still required, normally at least five working days before the work

Timing: the nesting season and the dormant season

Active birds' nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the main nesting season runs roughly from February to August. Work can still go ahead in those months, but trees and hedges need checking first. For many deciduous trees, late autumn and winter is the practical time for tree pruning in Colchester and elsewhere, as the leaves are off and the structure is easy to see. Cherries and plums are the main exception, as they are pruned in summer to reduce the risk of silver leaf disease.

How much can be cut?

A good crown reduction takes the whole canopy back to healthy growth points rather than topping the tree, and usually removes no more than around a quarter to a third of the leaf area at once. Taking more can leave a tree stressed and prone to decay.

Pollarding works differently. The tree is cut back hard to the same knuckles on a repeating cycle, and garden limes and willows are commonly re-cut every one to three years. A regular pollarding cycle keeps a suitable tree at a manageable size for decades.

What drives the price

• Size and height: a tree that has to be climbed and dismantled in sections takes far longer than one felled in one piece
• Access: a rear garden with no side access means every branch and log has to be carried through
• What is nearby: roofs, greenhouses, fences and cables mean branches are roped and lowered rather than dropped
• Waste: whether branches are chipped and removed, or chips and logs are left for you
• Stumps: stump grinding is usually an add-on, priced mainly on the stump's diameter and access

For tree removal and stump grinding, a few photos showing the whole tree, anything close to it and the route from the road are usually enough for a provisional figure.

Three charts worth keeping

• Timeline: the months when work is planned against the nesting season and any six-week notice period
• Stacked bar: how each quote splits between climbing, waste removal and stump grinding
• Line chart: crown height after each reduction or pollard cut, to show the tree staying in check over the years

With the key figures written down, quotes become much easier to compare like for like. For more on charting garden and landscaping work, see our landscapers category.