Two contractors can price the same yard and come back with two very different jobs. One quote covers felling, stump removal, carting the arisings away and a topsoil strip. The other assumes the stumps stay in the ground, the brash is chipped into a heap at the back, and the groundworks contractor sorts out the rest.
Different assumptions can produce very different prices. A written brief makes clear what you need and gives you something to check each quote against.
Ask for a separate price for each part of the job
Site clearance is a catch-all term. Depending on the site, it can include four distinct packages: tree and vegetation work, demolition, muck away and soil strip, and the services and utilities that cross the site. Ask for each as a separate line, even when one contractor is doing all of it.
| Work package | What it usually covers | What to pin down |
|---|---|---|
| Trees and vegetation | Felling, sectional dismantling, scrub and bramble clearance, stump grinding, chipping | Does the price include stump removal, disposal of arisings and the finished ground level? |
| Demolition and structures | Buildings, slabs, hard standings, boundary walls | Surveys and waste classification sit here, not with the tree package |
| Muck away, soil and stone | Excavation, topsoil strip and storage, removal off site | Volumes need measuring. A photo of a heap is not a measurement |
| Services and utilities | Diversions, disconnections, isolations, permits to work | Who arranges them, and when they release the site to the clearance crew |
If you split the packages between firms, write down where each firm's work starts and finishes: who takes the stumps out, who takes the arisings, who restores the ground, and who signs the handover between trades.
Pay particular attention to the handover from the clearance crew to the groundworks contractor. If groundworks are waiting on a stripped, level surface and the clearance quote only allows for cutting stumps flush, you may face extra grinding costs. Agree the required finish so both firms know what the clearance price needs to cover.
Put the boundary on a plan, not in a sentence
A red line on a drawing beats "the overgrown area behind unit 4" every time. The plan should show the working area, the access route, anything deliberately excluded, and anything inside the line that must not be touched.
- Who owns each parcel, and who can give access and sign off the work
- Neighbouring land, shared access and any party wall or right of way
- Services, drains, cables and overhead lines, and who confirms their positions
- Anything that stays: fences, signage, stock, planting, hard standing
Ask the contractor to price from the plan and list their assumptions. An assumption in writing is easy to price and easy to challenge; one made on site becomes a variation later.
Protect the trees that are staying
Where trees are staying, the method matters as much as the felling. Mark root protection areas, ground protection and no-works zones on the same plan. On development sites the constraints are normally set out in a BS 5837 tree survey and, where construction comes close to retained trees, in an arboricultural method statement. The appointed arboriculturist prepares those documents. The clearance contractor follows them rather than deciding the protection measures on site.
Check the protection status before the brief goes out. Trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order generally need the local planning authority's written consent for cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting or wilful damage unless a statutory exception applies. Trees in a conservation area are protected by a six-week notice period unless an exception applies.
Dead trees have a narrow exception, but it normally still requires five working days' written notice to the authority, and removing a dead or dangerous tree can trigger a duty to plant a replacement.
Where there is an immediate risk of serious harm, keep people away and obtain competent help. Only urgently necessary work falls within the relevant exception; notify the authority as soon as practicable and retain evidence. Call 999 if people are in immediate danger.
Drawings rarely show where the root spread runs. A root protection area usually starts as a circle on the plan, while roots on site follow drains, old foundations and soft ground. If tracked machinery will cross near a retained tree, the arboriculturist's method statement should say how the ground is protected.
Access, phasing and the rules of the site
Access decides the method, so give it to the contractor before they price: gate widths and heights, weight limits on the surface, turning space, where a crane or mobile platform can stand, and where machinery cannot go.
Set working hours, noise limits and any permit-to-work system in the brief. Say how the clearance phase is separated from staff, visitors and the public, and how car parks and loading bays stay open.
Agree start and finish dates and who decides whether weather stops work. Tell the contractor when the next trade needs access.
Waste: choose the route before the first load moves
Business waste carries a duty of care. A waste transfer note or equivalent required record documents non-hazardous waste transfers; qualifying repeated transfers can use a season ticket. Agree which records will be provided and check the carrier is registered before anything is taken away. Registration can be checked on the Environment Agency register. Agree who provides the records and check the destination is authorised; the duty of care applies to each relevant waste holder.
Decide what leaves and what stays: timber, chips, brash, stumps, roots and soil. Taking green waste and timber off site costs money, and the number of loads is one of the easiest things for a quote to understate. Ask for the assumed load count and the disposal route to be written into the quote.
Which permissions are in place?
The small-volume exception generally allows up to five cubic metres to be felled per calendar quarter, with no more than two cubic metres sold. For other felling in England, you need a felling licence unless another exception applies.
Exceptions include trees in private gardens, orchards, churchyards and some public open spaces, trees within specified diameter limits measured at 1.3 metres above ground, and felling immediately required to carry out development authorised by full planning permission, subject to the precise terms of that exception.
An exemption from one control is not an exemption from the others. Check felling licence rules, TPO consent, conservation area notice, planning conditions, wildlife law and landowner permission. The tree owner is responsible for ensuring the necessary permissions are in place; contractors also need to check before working. Put the status of each in the brief, with reference numbers, so nobody assumes someone else has it covered.
For a construction project, the client duties under CDM 2015 sit with you. That means appointing contractors and designers with the right skills, knowledge and experience, providing pre-construction information, and making sure a construction phase plan is in place before work starts.
Agree what "cleared" means at handover
Two sites can both be called clear, and look nothing alike. Set the standard in the brief:
- Stump height above ground, and whether stumps are ground out or cut flush
- Whether roots, brash and chips leave the site or stay in a stated place
- The finished surface: level, consolidated, backfilled, or left ready for the next trade
- The evidence that comes back with the invoice: photos, waste transfer notes, a signed handover sheet
Walk the boundary at the end with the same plan you priced from. Check the agreed work, exclusions and retained features. The marked boundary defines the work area. It does not transfer all site risks or legal duties to the contractor.
A brief you can send today
Copy this into the enquiry and attach the plan:
- The site address, the red line plan and the access route
- Each work package, priced separately, with quantities where you have them
- What is retained: trees, hedges, fences, services, stock, hard standing
- Protection requirements and any survey or method statement already in place
- Access limits, working hours, permits, welfare and segregation rules
- Consent status: felling licence, TPO or conservation area, planning conditions, wildlife checks
- Waste route and the documents you expect to receive
- The handover standard and the date the next trade needs the site
- What is excluded, so nothing is priced twice or missed
Exclusions to check before you compare prices
Check what each price leaves out. Allow for the cost of any missing items before comparing totals:
- Disposal, landfill charges and the number of loads included
- Stump grinding, and what happens to the grindings
- Ecology surveys, bat or nesting bird checks, and the waiting time that follows
- Reinstatement, seeding or surface repair after the machines leave
- Out-of-hours, weekend and standby rates
- VAT, and whether the quoted figure includes it
Clear exclusions show what you will need to arrange or pay for separately. Settle those points before booking the work.
If you are pricing clearance in North Yorkshire, County Durham or the North East, send the plan and the brief for an itemised written quote. Our stump grinding and site clearance service covers tree and vegetation clearance, stump removal and arisings removal, and works to an arboricultural method statement where one is in place.
Use the contact form to describe the site, the access, what is being cleared and the finish you need. If you hold a survey, a plan or a method statement, describe it in the form and we will arrange to see it before quoting. For tree-work enquiries, call 07423 269635. This is not an emergency-services number or a guarantee of immediate attendance.
Still choosing between contractors? Our comparison of UK commercial tree surgery services sets out the provider types, contract options and the questions to ask before appointment.