Six things, and the first is that you may not need to. A stump that is not in the way of anything is not a problem, and grinding is a separate machine, a separate cost and sometimes a separate visit.
1. Grinding is not digging out
These get confused and they are very different jobs. Grinding uses a wheel with teeth to chew the stump down below ground level — normally around six inches, deeper if something is being built over it. It deals with the stump and the main roots immediately around it, and turns them into chip.
Digging out means excavating the stump and root plate whole, which needs a machine with reach, leaves a very large hole, and is rarely justified in a domestic garden. Grinding is what almost everyone means and almost everyone needs.
2. Access decides what is possible
Grinders come in a range of sizes, and the narrow ones will pass through a standard side gate — but if the only route to the garden is a 700mm gate, or through the house, or up steps, that rules out the larger machines and changes what can realistically be done.
This matters particularly on the enclosed gardens common in and around Chipping Campden. Measure the narrowest point before you ring; it is the single most useful number you can give.
3. Diameter drives the price, not the tree's old height
| Factor | Effect on cost |
|---|---|
| Stump diameter | The main driver — measured across the cut face |
| Access | Gate width and distance from the vehicle |
| Depth required | Deeper for paving or foundations than for lawn |
| Ground conditions | Stones and old rubble slow the machine and wear teeth |
| Number of stumps | Several in one visit is much cheaper than several visits |
| Chip disposal | Leaving it on site costs less than carting it away |
A wide, low stump in a tight corner can cost more than a taller one in the open. It is the diameter and the access, not how big the tree looked.
4. Decide before the tree comes down
Ask for the stump to be quoted alongside the felling even if you have not made up your mind. Knowing the number costs nothing and it is the cheapest moment to say yes.
5. What you are left with
A hole roughly where the stump was, full of woody chip and soil. Most people mix it back down, top with soil and turf or seed over it. Expect the ground to settle over the following months and to want topping up once.
If you are planting into that spot, dig the chip out first and backfill with soil. Woody chip robs nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down, and a new plant put straight into grindings will struggle.
If you want the chip taken away entirely, say so at quotation — there is more of it than people expect.
6. The protected-tree question does not end with the tree
Worth knowing: a Tree Preservation Order can cover the stump as well as the standing tree, and consent to fell does not automatically include consent to grind the stump out. In Chipping Campden's conservation area, if you are dealing with a protected tree it is worth confirming with Cotswold District Council that the stump work is covered by whatever consent or notice you have.
There is also frequently a replanting condition attached to consent for felling a protected tree — a requirement to plant a replacement. That is worth knowing before the stump goes, because where the replacement is planted is easier to decide while the ground is open.
When the stump can simply stay
- Nothing is planned for that spot.
- It is in a border, behind a shed, or otherwise out of the way.
- It is low and flat — it will rot down on its own over the years.
- The budget is better spent on the tree work this year.
- You like it. Low stumps make perfectly good plant stands.
Got a stump to deal with?
Tell us roughly how wide it is and what's planned for the spot. We'll arrange a free quotation.
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