Taking a hedge out is the one garden job that cannot be undone, so the first conversation is about what stands in its place.
nesting over, and dormant material is lighter to dispose of
in any month, immediately before that panel is cut
hand tools and hedge cutters, no machine grinding
volume is what moves the price most
West Lancashire Borough Council holds the orders
fence, new hedge or nothing, before the first cut
Hedge removal is taking a boundary hedge out for good rather than cutting it back. The line comes down in sections to ground level, and where the ground is wanted clear the stools and roots are grubbed out by hand and the strip raked level. Everything that comes off goes with us. It is not a hard trim, and it cannot be reversed.
The cheaper answer first
A deciduous hedge with a depth of green foliage can usually be cut hard back into shape instead, and that costs less than taking it out and dealing with what comes off. We say so when we see it. Removal is what is left when renovation is not available, which on an evergreen already cut into brown wood is the usual position.
Against doing it yourself
Most people who take a hedge out over a few weekends find the saw work goes quickly and then stall on the rest: the stools, the roots, the soil that comes up with them, and a volume of material with nowhere legal to go. That second half is the job, and it is what the quote is actually for.
Against cutting it harder each year
Most conifers other than yew do not re-shoot from old wood, so cutting a screen back past its green shell leaves a permanent bare face rather than a smaller hedge. Where that has already happened, cutting it harder again each year makes it worse every time, and taking the line out is the only result that improves.
The binding constraint is not the month. It is an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built, and that offence attaches to the nest rather than to a date. Defra's guidance gives no calendar dates at all. So the check is a visual one on each section immediately before it is cut, in any month of the year, and where a nest is in use that panel is left alone until the young have fledged.
Whole streets in Skelmersdale and on the 1960s and 70s fringes of Ormskirk and Burscough went in with fast conifer screens at the same time, and those boundaries are now decades past the size they were wanted at. On the Shirdley Hill sand around Ormskirk the roots lift cleanly once winter water has drained off the till. On the mossland peat at Tarleton and Banks the timing matters more, because that ground compacts when it is worked wet.
It sits alongside the rest of our garden services in Ormskirk, and is often booked with regular garden maintenance. The ground changes across the patch — see Ormskirk.
A hedge is a boundary marker, a windbreak, a screen and cover for wildlife, and all four go on the same day. Fence, new hedge or open ground is settled before the first cut rather than after it.
Trees can be protected by a Tree Preservation Order or by sitting in a conservation area, where six weeks' written notice is required before work. We check by address with the council covering your property before we quote.
Before quoting
The volume leaving site is planned into the quote, not added at the end, because a removed hedge produces stools, roots and soil alongside the green waste.
Each panel is inspected immediately before it is cut, and the hedge comes down in sections so that a nest found part-way through means leaving one panel rather than abandoning the job.
Most of a day
Where the line is wanted clear, the stools and roots come out by hand and the strip is raked level, ready for whatever goes in next.
How it is priced
By the length and height of the line, the species and how woody it has gone, whether the roots come out or the stools stay at ground level, and how far a barrow and a van can get to the work. Above all it is priced by the volume of material leaving the site, which is the part customers least expect: a hedge that comes out produces root ball and soil as well as green waste. The price you get is the one on your written quote, after we have seen the line.
The one that cannot be undone
A hedge is doing four jobs at once, and removing it ends all four on the same day. Owners who had thought only about the screening notice the wind, the noise or the neighbours afterwards. Deciding what stands there instead is part of the quote, not an afterthought.
Disposal
Trade waste is not accepted at any household waste recycling centre in Lancashire and it is illegal to deposit it there, and waste a trader generates on your property counts as commercial waste wherever it came from. The council's own garden waste bin will not take soil, turf, stones or rubble either, so disposal is priced in from the start.
Protection
An order can cover a tree standing in a hedge line even though it does not cover hedges, bushes or shrubs themselves, and a tree in a conservation area is protected automatically. That makes the check on this job the trees in the line rather than the line. We confirm by address with the council before quoting, and never make that call ourselves.
The ground afterwards
Around Ormskirk water perches above the till through winter, and on the mossland peat the soil compacts when it is worked wet and hardens on drying, so root work on a saturated line smears the ground instead of opening it. Both soils also carry a spring wind erosion risk on bare, unstable surfaces, which is why the strip gets levelled and then covered or planted rather than left open.
This is the general position, not a decision about your property. We confirm it with the authority named above before we quote.
Dan came and did a day clear up on our garden, he then scarified, fed and seeded our lawn. We then booked him to come back, put down sacking, edging and stones. Dan works hard from start to finish and leaves your garden clean and tidy, taking away debris. My daughter is getting married on Monday so we are having a garden party, we are now party ready! Thank you 😊
Dan was very reliable , efficient and got the job done to a high standard. We are very pleased with our garden.
Highly recommend, pays great attention to detail, with excellent knowledge and skill. Very reliable and will give you a bespoke service tailored to your needs.
Dan was fantastic! My garden was in a bad way and now it looks incredible! Can’t believe how quick he was and what a fab job he’s done, also very reasonable price considering what he was faced with. Would 10/10 recommend.
Booked in with Hardman Horticulture to get on top of a garden that had been somewhat neglected for many months - Dan was able to communicate effectively around availability, provided a fair quote for the work, and turned up when they said they would. Very pleased with the results of the initial visit and have communicated intention to re-book for further garden work. Highly recommend!
Very good at maintaining my gardens and reliable
Tell us roughly what the garden looks like now and we will say what it needs and when.
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