Hedge Trimming in Cambridge

£4 per metre for hedges up to 2 metres tall, £8 per metre above 2 metres. The height band reflects the extra time, the access equipment and the amount of clearing involved rather than being an arbitrary surcharge. The £40 minimum visit applies, so a single short run may come in at the minimum.

The job is the sides and top cut to shape, cuttings raked out of the base and off beds and paths, and the area left tidy. Cuttings disposal is £12 per visit; hedge material bulks up quickly, so on a long run it is usually worth paying rather than filling your green bin for a month.

Not covered: tree surgery, felling, and reducing or reshaping anything above hedge height, all of which want a qualified tree surgeon. Ivy-bound or fence-embedded hedges and hedges on a boundary you do not control are looked at before any price is given.

Timing depends on the species and the condition of the hedge, not on a date in a calendar. Most garden hedges take two cuts a year, typically late spring and late summer. Fast growers such as privet and leylandii often want a third. Formal box and yew want cutting when growth has hardened rather than while it is soft, and flowering hedges are best cut after they have flowered so you do not remove next season's display.

Conifers matter here: leylandii and most cypress will not reshoot from brown wood, so cutting back beyond the green growth leaves a permanent bare face. If a hedge has already outgrown its position, the realistic options are a gradual reduction over seasons or replacement, and which one applies is said plainly at the quote stage.

Nesting birds are the constraint that overrides timing. It is an offence in the UK to damage or destroy an active nest, so every hedge is checked before the first cut is made. If a nest is in use the hedge is left alone and the work is rebooked, however inconvenient the timing. Nesting is commonest from March to August, but a bird can nest outside those months, which is exactly why no date is guaranteed safe in advance.

The total length of hedge in metres, the approximate height, whether both sides can be reached, and a photograph of the run. Pacing the length is accurate enough to price from. Say whether you want the cuttings taken away.

Access decides the method. Tall hedges need room to work safely from a platform or ladder, and hedges tight against a greenhouse, pond, parked cars or a neighbour's fence take longer. Working from a neighbour's side needs their agreement, which is worth arranging before the visit. Within 8 miles of Cambridge there is no callout charge; beyond that travel is confirmed in the quote.