Two quotes for the same tree rarely look alike. The difference is usually not the felling itself. It comes down to what each contractor has allowed for: how the tree comes down, how the team reaches it, who takes the arisings away, whether the stump is included, and which parts of the job stay with you.
This guide is for site, property and facilities managers, developers and landowners comparing quotes for a commercial tree removal service on an occupied site. It sets out what a specification should contain, which exclusions to expect, and the brief that gets you quotes you can actually compare.
Start with a specification, not a price
A price only means something against a defined scope. Ask every contractor for a written specification that names each tree, gives a tag number or a clear location, and states the removal method.
Two methods cover most commercial work. A straight fell cuts the tree at the base and lets it fall in one piece, which needs open ground and a clear drop zone.
Sectional dismantling takes the tree down in pieces. Sections may be lowered using rigging or specialist lifting equipment where controlled dropping is not suitable. Rigging is the use of ropes and friction devices to control how a cut section descends. Dismantling can take longer and require additional equipment, but it is often the only option where there is no room to fell.
If a site is tight and a quote looks cheap, ask which method has been priced. The answer tells you whether the two quotes are for the same job.
Access can change the cost substantially
Gate widths, overhead lines, buried services, soft ground, parked vehicles, delivery routes and the distance from the tree to where the chipper can stand all change the job. If the wood has to be processed where it falls before it can be carried out, or the standard machine will not fit through the gate, the quote has to reflect the extra hours on site.
Collect what a contractor cannot see from the road before you ask for prices:
- A site plan with each tree marked and numbered.
- Photos of the tree, the ground beneath it and the access route.
- Service drawings showing buried utilities, or a clear note that you are arranging them.
- Site rules: working hours, noise limits, permits to work, inductions, PPE requirements and who controls access.
Underground services matter because removal can involve tracked machinery, stump grinding and sometimes excavation. Tell the contractor what is buried before they price, not after they arrive. If you do not hold the drawings, say so in the enquiry so locating and protecting services is allocated and priced before work starts. An exclusion cannot remove the duty to work safely.
Exclusion zones, phasing and keeping the site open
An exclusion zone is the area kept clear of people while the tree is worked on and while material is lowered or felled into it. On a busy site the practical questions are how large that zone needs to be, for how long, and who polices it.
Quotes should say what closures the work needs and who arranges them: parking bay suspensions, temporary walkway diversions, a banksman to control the area, out-of-hours working, or phasing the job around deliveries and trading hours. When a quote is silent on closures, the cost tends to reappear as an instruction on the day.
What removal quotes commonly leave out
Exclusions are normal. They should be written down. Check every quote for these:
- Stump removal. Cutting a tree to ground level is not stump removal. Grinding is usually a separate line, and it brings its own questions about depth, spoil and how the hole is backfilled.
- Arisings. Arisings is the trade term for the branches, cordwood and sawdust the work produces. Confirm what leaves site, what stays, and where material can be stacked in the meantime.
- Waste paperwork. For waste leaving site, agree the carrier-registration checks, destination and required transfer records.
- Protection and reinstatement. Ground protection, fencing around retained trees, and repairs to hardstanding, kerbs, grass or drainage after machinery has crossed them.
- Consents. Applications for protected trees, conservation area notifications, felling licences and wildlife checks. Agree who obtains each permission and who checks it before work. All parties must stay within the authorised scope.
- Third-party works. Traffic management, road closures, utility isolations and reconnections.
Where a contract administrator or managing agent is involved, agree who owns each line before comparing totals. A quote that quietly assumes you will arrange traffic management, a road closure and a temporary power isolation is not the cheapest one once those invoices arrive.
Paperwork to check before you compare totals
Competence, insurance and waste registration are pass or fail, not items to score.
- Competence. Chainsaw and aerial work certificates, usually NPTC or Lantra awards, for the people doing the work, plus a risk assessment and method statement, often shortened to RAMS, written for your site.
- Employers' liability insurance. Most employers must hold at least £5 million of cover, subject to statutory exceptions. If the contractor employs staff, ask for the certificate or an explanation of an applicable exemption.
- Public liability insurance. Check the cover is current and that the work it describes matches the job. On larger projects, weigh the level of cover against the value of what could be damaged.
- Waste carrier registration. Check the Environment Agency registration of anyone transporting waste from the job and confirm it covers the activity. Registration tier depends on the waste and who produces or carries it; do not assume every tree-work contractor needs the same tier. Upper-tier registration is renewed every three years; lower-tier registration does not need renewal.
- Your side of the duty. Agree who is the waste producer and holder and how the duty of care will be met. Keep the required waste transfer records for non-hazardous waste transfers; an invoice is sufficient only if it contains the required information. Material retained or transferred as a product may have a different status, which must be established rather than assumed.
Agree who obtains permissions; everyone must check them
Removing a tree is not only a commercial decision. In England, felling growing trees normally needs a felling licence unless an exemption applies, and everyone involved, including landowners and their agents, is expected to check permissions before work starts.
For a Tree Preservation Order, written consent is generally needed unless a specific exception applies. Conservation-area work normally follows a six-week notice procedure, not the same consent process. Check with the local planning authority and Forestry Commission how these controls interact for the proposed work. Wildlife law applies as well: bats and nesting birds are protected whether or not you hold consent for the tree.
Your appointed arboriculturist, ecologist or the local planning authority confirms the position for each tree. The quotes you compare should reflect the permissions you hold, not the ones you hope to get.
Comparing quotes side by side
| What to compare | Ask for | Why it moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Method | Straight fell or sectional dismantling, with the reason | Dismantling needs more time, rigging and skill |
| Access | Route, machinery, ground protection | Tight access or soft ground means smaller plant and more hand work |
| Arisings | Removed, chipped or left on site, and who owns them | Haulage and disposal are real costs |
| Stump | Grinding included or excluded, depth, spoil and backfill | Grinding and reinstatement are separate operations |
| Closures and hours | Who arranges them and when | Out-of-hours work and closures add cost but keep the site trading |
| Exclusions | A written list | Assumptions that go unstated return as variations |
| Price basis | Fixed price per tree or phase, plus rates for extra trees | Day rates need an agreed duration, scope and authority for extra time |
The brief to send with your enquiry
Send the same brief to every contractor to make the quotes easier to compare:
- Site address, a plan, and trees numbered on it.
- A tree schedule: species, approximate height, trunk diameter at chest height, and any visible defects.
- What sits under and around each tree: buildings, services, car parks, footpaths, play areas.
- Access: gate widths, ground surface, where plant can stand, and any height or weight limits.
- Site requirements: permits, inductions, RAMS format, insurance evidence and waste documentation.
- Permissions: Tree Preservation Order or conservation area status, felling licence position, and any ecology reports you hold.
- What must stay: retained trees, fencing, services and surfaces.
- Disposal: what leaves site, what stays, and where arisings can be stored.
- Timing: how the work fits around operations, and who authorises changes.
Send one brief, get comparable quotes
For a tree removal quote in North Yorkshire, County Durham or the wider North East, describe the site address, the trees and what surrounds them in the contact form. Mention any plans, photographs or reports you hold so we can arrange how to receive them and discuss a site visit. Ask for the removal method, access assumptions and exclusions in the written quote. You can see how we approach this work on our commercial tree removal page.