Cost guide
How much does hedge cutting cost?
£60 to £150 is the common range for a standard domestic hedge, with £120 the figure quoted most often. London and the South East run £90 to £220 for identical work. By the hour, hedge cutting sits at £20 to £40 nationally and £30 to £50 within the M25.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on your room.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Hedge under 1 metre, both faces and crown | £40 to £80 |
| Hedge 1 to 2 metres, worked from the ground | £70 to £130 |
| Hedge 2 to 3 metres, platform needed | £130 to £220 |
| Leylandii over 3 metres | £220 to £400 |
| Hedge 2 to 3 metres, London and the South East | £190 to £300 |
| Cuttings taken off site | £20 to £50 |
Access equipment separates a cheap quote from a deliverable one. A price given from the pavement for a three metre hedge usually assumes ladder work, whereas a firm that arrives with a tower, or hires one in, has costed £200 to £500 a day for it.
What moves the price
- Height above two metres forces platform work and shifts the job into a dearer band.
- Run length, and whether both faces are cut or only the one facing your garden.
- Species, since leylandii and laurel take longer per metre than privet or beech.
- Cutting volume, which decides whether the waste fits in bags or fills a van.
- Region, with London adding roughly £10 an hour over rates quoted in Yorkshire.
Worth knowing
Cutting a garden hedge in June is not illegal. Destroying an active nest in it is. March to August is guidance about when nests are likely, not a statutory closed season.
RSPB and Defra guidance on hedge cutting and nesting birds
Who quotes for it
6 of the 18 gardeners listed on this site take on hedge cutting.
Most of them in one place: Shrewsbury (3), Telford (3).
Questions about hedge cutting
Who takes the cuttings?
Whoever you agree it with, at £20 to £50 on a standard hedge and £30 to £60 in London. Trimmings on their own fall under the free lower tier registration that England and Wales operate. Any established firm can therefore take them away legally.
What if a tree has grown into the hedge?
Check it against the Tree Preservation Order register before anything is cut. Working on a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence, and since March 2015 the fine has been unlimited. Trees in an English conservation area need six weeks of written notice to the local planning authority.