Service · Hedge removal
When the hedge has to go — for a new drive, a wall, a fence, or because it's just wrong for the position. We take it out, grind the stumps, and leave the ground ready for whatever comes next.
Removing a long-established hedge on Ramsgate ground often surprises homeowners. The roots have laced sideways into the thin topsoil rather than going down — the Upper Chalk basement under the Thanet Formation is only 20-40cm below the surface in many gardens, and roots hit chalk and spread. You can have a 50-year-old privet hedge whose root mass is in the top 20cm of soil but extends 1.5m out from the line. Stump grinding picks up the main stems but the lateral root mass needs hand-clearing where you're planning to plant or build on the strip afterwards.
Established Hippophae rhamnoides hedges suck freely from lateral roots. Removing a sea-buckthorn line without follow-up will give you thickets of new shoots two summers running. We flag this at quote stage and price the follow-up visits in, rather than pretending one removal call closes the job.
Any removal work within the Thanet DC coastal-safety zone on the East Cliff or West Cliff can intersect coastal-protection consents (sea walls, granite rock armour, cliff drainage, rock netting). We route those jobs via Thanet's coastal engineering team before quoting. Slower, but the right way to do it.
Removal triggers more careful CA checks than cutting or reduction. Even hedging-species removal is allowed without a notice — but if there are any standards within the hedge (a holly, a yew, a mature sycamore) over the 75mm threshold, those need six-week notice or a TPO check. We do this before quoting; it's not a surprise on the day.
Standard hedging clippings and small branches go to Thanet's HWRC under our EA waste-carrier registration. Larger trunk wood from removed standards is sold to a local fence-merchant when usable, chipped for council green-bin disposal when not. Nothing burned on site.
Removal pricing depends almost entirely on access. A 10m hedge with vehicle access for a chipper and grinder is straightforward — typically £600 – £1,200. The same hedge in a Regency terrace front garden with everything wheelbarrow-out is materially more work. We quote per job, fixed price.
Always on every job
A proper job or you pay nothing 10% off for pensioners 10% off repeat jobs over £500For removals, a quick on-site visit beats remote quoting — we need to walk the access route and check what's underneath. Free, no obligation. hello@ramsgatehedges.co.uk or 07763 100 477.