Hedge cutting is quoted per job rather than per metre, and the reason is that length is only one of six things that decide how long the work takes. Two hedges of identical length can be very different jobs.
What actually sets the price
- Length. The obvious one, and the least interesting.
- Height. The point at which the job needs a platform rather than a step ladder is the point the price steps up.
- Width. Cutting both faces plus the top is roughly three times the work of topping alone, and a wide hedge is slower on every pass.
- How long it's been left. A hedge cut last year and a hedge cut five years ago are completely different jobs.
- Species. Soft new growth cuts quickly; thick woody stems and dense conifer do not.
- Access and disposal. Whether the arisings can be chipped on site or carried out by hand through a house.
The width is the part people forget
This is the single most common surprise in hedge quoting, and it is particularly relevant in Bromsgrove, where a lot of older properties have established boundary hedges that have been topped for years without the faces ever coming back.
Cutting both faces at the same time as the top holds the footprint where it is. It costs more per visit and considerably less per decade.
The first cut is not the same as the maintenance cut
| Situation | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cut within the last year | Routine maintenance — quickest and cheapest |
| Two to three years | Heavier trim; the old line is still findable |
| Four years or more | Reclamation — far more material, old line usually lost |
| Never properly cut | A reduction project rather than a cut |
It is worth being honest about which of those you have when you ring. A quote given for a routine trim on a hedge that has not been touched in six years is a quote that changes on the day, which helps nobody.
Where the savings actually are
- Get all the hedges done in one visit rather than one at a time.
- Combine hedge work with tree work or clearance in the same arrangement.
- Keep the chip if you have a use for it — it saves the disposal run.
- Clear the ground along the base before the crew arrives.
- Book regular maintenance rather than rescuing it every few years.
- Be flexible on timing, outside the busiest weeks.
What to have ready when you ring
- Roughly how long the hedge is, in metres or fence panels.
- Roughly how tall — against a door or window is a fine guide.
- What it is, if you know. Conifer, Leylandii, laurel, privet, beech.
- When it was last cut.
- Whether you want the faces done as well as the top.
- Whether a vehicle can park near it and whether a chipper can reach.
- Whether the arisings are staying or going.
One thing that is not a cost factor
Height, in the legal sense. There is no maximum lawful height for a hedge in England, and nobody can require you to cut one simply for being tall. The two-metre figure that gets quoted is the threshold at which a neighbour can complain to Bromsgrove District Council about an evergreen hedge blocking their light — and even then, the council cannot order it below two metres or order it removed.
Want a free quote on your hedge in Bromsgrove?
Tell us roughly how long it is, how tall, and what it's made of if you know. We'll arrange a free quotation based on the actual work required.
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