Tree surgery in St Albans, done by the book
Qualified tree surgeons for felling, crown reduction, stumps, hedges and storm work. We check the protected-tree position before we quote.
- Felling and removal
- Crown reduction
- Stump grinding
- Storm call-outs
- TPO register checked first We check the protected-tree position before we quote, on every job.
- Fixed written quotes Scope, access, waste and price on one sheet, before anyone climbs.
- No cold calling, ever We never knock doors after a storm and we never leaflet a price.
- Insured, qualified climbers Public liability cover on every job. Ask and we send the certificate.
Seven jobs, one order of work
Whatever the tree needs, the sequence is the same. Establish who owns it, check what is on it, agree the method, then cut. Skipping the first two is how people end up in front of the council.
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Tree Removal and Felling
Whole trees taken down, either in one drop where there is room or dismantled in sections over a roof, a fence or a greenhouse. Timber and brash cleared unless you want the logs kept.
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Crown Reduction and Pruning
Reducing, thinning, lifting and deadwooding, cut back to growth points so the tree reshapes instead of throwing water shoots. Gets the light back and keeps the tree.
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Stump Grinding and Removal
The stump ground out below ground level so you can turf, plant or pave over it. We check for buried services and hard edges before the grinder goes anywhere near it.
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Hedge Cutting and Reduction
Annual trims, height reductions and hard cuts back into old wood on the hedges that take it. We check for active nests before a blade starts, March to August.
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Emergency and Storm Damage
Trees down, limbs hung up in the canopy, split forks, and anything leaning on a roof or a road. Phones answered day and night, and we tell you straight away whose tree it is.
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TPO and Conservation Area Work
Protected trees, from the register check through to the application or the six-week notice. The district has 19 conservation areas and a maximum fine of £20,000 per tree, so this is the part to get right first.
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Tree Reports and Surveys
Written arboricultural reports for subsidence claims, mortgage queries, planning applications and boundary disputes. Findings first, recommendations second, whether or not they involve us doing any work.
Protected trees in St Albans
St Albans district has 19 conservation areas. Inside one, almost any tree with a trunk over 75mm across needs six weeks' written notice to the council before a saw touches it, whether or not it carries a Tree Preservation Order. Cut a protected tree without that and the maximum fine is £20,000 per tree.
That is not a scare story, it is the council's own published position, and it is the single most common thing homeowners here find out too late. We check the register before we quote on every job, we tell you which clock you are on, and we lodge the paperwork rather than handing you a form.
Storm damage and dangerous trees
Phones are answered day and night for storm and dangerous-tree calls. Ring us and you will get a person who can tell you three things straight away: whether it is safe to leave until morning, whose tree it actually is, and what the next hour looks like.
If anyone is at risk of serious harm right now, that is a 999 call before it is a tree surgeon call. If the tree is on the public highway it belongs to Hertfordshire County Council, and if it is in a park or on council housing land it belongs to the district. We will say so rather than quoting you for somebody else's tree.
Check, quote, cut, clear
No deposit is taken before you accept a written price.
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Site visit
We look at the tree, the target underneath it and the route in and out. Fifteen minutes, free.
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Permission check
TPO register and conservation area boundary checked against your address, and the answer in writing.
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Written quote
Method, access, waste, timings and the price. One sheet, fixed, yours to compare against anyone else's.
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The work
Roped and lowered where there is anything below, chipped on site, and the ground left rakeable.
Where we work
Based in St Albans, working across the Hertfordshire villages and suburbs around it.
The ones we get asked most
Do I need permission to cut down a tree in my own St Albans garden?
Sometimes, and it is worth finding out before you book anyone. You need consent if the tree carries a Tree Preservation Order, and you need to give the council six weeks' written notice if the tree stands in a conservation area and its trunk is more than 75mm across measured at 1.5m from the ground. St Albans district has 19 conservation areas, so this catches far more gardens here than people expect. Outside both of those, a garden tree on your own land is normally yours to manage. We run the check as part of quoting, and we tell you which of the three positions you are in.
How do I check whether my tree has a Tree Preservation Order?
Two routes, both free. The council's mapping service carries a planning constraints layer that shows TPOs and conservation area boundaries against your address, and the council also publishes a searchable list of TPO numbers. Area orders are the ones people miss: they cover every qualifying tree inside a drawn boundary, so nothing about your individual tree looks special. Start at the council's tree preservation order page. If you would rather not, we check the register on every job before we quote, and we put what we find in writing.
I am in a conservation area. How long do I have to wait?
Six weeks from the date the council validates your section 211 notice. That is a national rule, not a local one, and during those six weeks the council can decide to place a TPO on the tree instead of letting the work go ahead. St Albans also runs a fast-track service that aims to give a decision by the end of the fourth week after validation, which is worth using if you are working to a sale or a build programme. Nothing about paying for the work speeds up the clock, and any firm telling you otherwise is telling you something that is not true.
What happens if I cut a protected tree without permission?
It is a criminal offence, and the penalties are set against each tree. Destroying a protected tree, or damaging it so badly that it has to come out, carries a maximum fine of £20,000 per tree. Wilful damage that falls short of destruction carries a maximum of £2,500 per tree. The council can also require a replacement tree to be planted. In practice the homeowner who instructed the work is the one who carries it, which is why we will not start a job on a protected tree until the consent or the notice is in place.
Get a price for your tree
Tell us the postcode and roughly what you want doing. We come out, check what is on the tree, and put a fixed price in writing.