Height adds more work than length, because tall growth must come down in sections.
Conifers produce bulky waste and leave dense root plates.
Removing stumps is a separate decision from cutting the hedge down.
Nesting birds affect when a hedge can be removed.
Hedge removal cost factors
Taking out a hedge is really two or three jobs in one. First the growth above ground is cut down and chipped or loaded. Then the stumps are either left, ground or dug out. Finally the waste goes and the ground is tidied for whatever comes next. Each part can be large or small, which is why two hedges of the same length can be priced very differently.
When you ask for a quote, it helps to give the rough length, the height, the type of hedge, what is on either side of it and what you plan to put in its place. Photos from both ends and from the access point are especially useful.
Length and height
Length sets how much cutting and clearing there is. Height changes how it is done. A waist-high hedge can be cut at ground level in one go. A hedge that has grown above head height has to be taken down in stages from the top, often from a platform or ladder, and the branches lowered carefully if there is a greenhouse, a fence or a neighbour's garden close by. Thick, wide hedges add more again, because there is more wood in every metre.
Species: conifer, laurel, privet and mixed
Conifers, including Leylandii, produce a lot of bulky, resinous foliage and dense trunks once mature, and they leave wide, shallow root plates. Laurel has thick woody stems and large leaves that fill a load quickly. Privet is generally lighter work, though old privet can have surprisingly tough roots. Native mixed hedges vary, and may include thorny species such as hawthorn and blackthorn that slow handling. Our conifer hedge removal page explains how Craig approaches large conifer boundaries.
Roots and stumps: grind or dig out
Cutting a hedge to the ground leaves a row of stumps. If you are planting a new hedge or laying turf, they usually need to go. A stump grinder can take them below the surface, or a digger can lift them out with the root balls on open ground. Digging leaves cleaner soil but disturbs more ground. Leaving the stumps is cheapest, but some species such as laurel and privet can regrow from them.
Waste and access
A long hedge creates a surprising volume of material. Chipping on site reduces it a great deal, and the chippings can sometimes be left for mulch if you want them. Otherwise everything has to be loaded and taken away. Access drives the time this takes: a hedge along a front boundary next to a driveway is quick to clear, while one at the bottom of a long garden with no side gate means every load is carried through.
Remove or reduce?
Before deciding to remove a hedge, consider whether a hard reduction would do. Many broadleaf hedges respond well to being cut back hard and will thicken up again, which is often less work than full removal and keeps the screening. Conifers are the main exception, because most will not regrow from bare brown wood. Our guide to whether an overgrown hedge should be reduced or removed goes through the signs either way, and our hedge cutting page covers regular trimming and reductions.
Nesting season and timing
Wild birds and their active nests are protected, and hedges are among their favourite nesting places. Spring and early summer are the busiest months, so removal is usually best planned for autumn or winter. If the work has to happen in the nesting season, the hedge must be checked carefully first, and any active nest left undisturbed until the young have gone. If the hedge is being replaced with a boundary, see our fencing page so the new fence can follow on once the ground is clear.
