Larger trees require:

• More time to complete the work

• Additional equipment

• More skilled climbing and rigging

Tall trees also increase the level of risk, which means more planning and safety measures are required.

There is also a second consideration of whether a tree can be removed from the ground or whether it needs to be reduced first.

This can significantly increase the time and labour needed, and the cost.

Trees located close to:

• Houses

• Garages

• Fences

• Roads or public footpaths

• Parked vehicles

• Cables

require much more care and precision.

Instead of simply cutting the tree down, branches often need to be carefully lowered in sections using ropes and rigging equipment.

There also may be limitations as to when some of the work can be done for example, high times of traffic or access to public paths.

This increases both time, risk and technical difficulty, which impacts the cost.

Access plays a big role in pricing.

For example:

• Easy access (open, flat garden) = quicker, lower cost

• Restricted access (tight spaces, no side access, crossing of boundaries, distance) = more time and manual work

If machinery such as stump grinders or chippers cannot be brought close to the work area, everything may need to be moved by hand, which increases the amount of labour needed.

If the area cannot be accessed at all by foot, extra machinery will be needed which will come at an additional cost.

Different types of work require different levels of time and expertise.

For example:

• Tree pruning or reduction is generally quicker.

• Tree removal is more complex and time-consuming, especially if the tree cannot be directly felled from the ground.

• Stump grinding requires specialist machinery.

• Hedge removal involves clearing large volumes of material and often hedges are made up of multiple stems, meaning each one has to be climbed.

The more complexity, the longer it takes to complete the job, generally costing more.