Routine cuts done properly, on every species I work with.

What's included

• Top, sides and front face cut to your chosen height and width
• All arisings cleared from site and disposed of properly (Ashford HWRC on Brunswick Road for garden waste; chipped for reuse where it makes sense)
• Brush-down of the path, lawn or driveway underneath
• Six-week section-211 notice filed on your behalf if you're in the Tenterden conservation area (or a village CA) and the hedge has any stems over 75mm at chest height
• Fixed price quoted in advance, no day-rate creep

Pricing

Most routine cuts in Tenterden fall in the £120 – £400 range depending on hedge length, height, and how much access I need. Fixed price after seeing photos and the postcode, no surprises on the day, no charge if the quote isn't accepted.

Timing by species: the Weald cadence

Fast-growing hedges on Tenterden's better ground want two cuts a year; slower natives on the clay boundaries are usually happy with one. A single hard cut on a fast-growing hedge leaves it visibly ragged for months, so I set the cadence to the species, not a one-size schedule.

• Privet, Leylandii, thuja: fast-growing, twice a year (late spring and late summer).
• Beech: single late-August cut; holds its brown leaves through winter if timed right, a classic Weald garden hedge.
• Hawthorn, blackthorn: winter only (September to February) to comply with nesting law; the reliable native option on the clay field boundaries.
• Yew: single late-August cut; happy with a hard clip once a year and resentful of more.
• Holly, laurel: late summer; both bruise easily, so secateurs and loppers on visible faces over a hedge trimmer where time allows.

Nesting-season timing

Under section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it's an offence to intentionally damage or destroy an active wild bird's nest. Tenterden's mixed hedgerows, hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, are exactly the structure farmland and garden birds nest in, so I check before any work between March and August (extending into September for late broods). This is written into every quote.

What I don't do on cutting jobs

If a hedge needs more than a routine cut: it's overgrown, gappy, leaning, or has outgrown the position, that's a reduction job, not a cut. I tell you that at quote stage rather than do a botched cut and pretend it solved the problem.