Commercial Tree Surgery in Colchester
Tree work for landlords, letting agents, schools, farms, developers and businesses across Colchester and north Essex. Qualified, insured teams, written quotes before work starts, and the paperwork your insurer, governors or head office will ask for afterwards.
- NPTC, Lantra and CSCS qualified
- Public liability insured
- Free written quotes
- TPO and conservation applications handled free
- Open 7 days, 8am to 6pm
Trees Over People and Property
Commercial tree work is judged on two things: that the job is done safely, and that you can show afterwards why the decision was made.
Trees over car parks, paths and play areas checked for decay, dieback and root movement, with findings you can keep on file. Tree health inspections
A limb over a tenant's car or a school entrance is a problem before it falls, not after. Storm damage is cleared as a priority. Emergency tree service
Scrub, self-seeded saplings and overgrown boundaries cleared ahead of works or lettings, with everything chipped on site. Hedge cutting and clearance
Who We Work For
Different responsibilities, different paperwork, same underlying question: are the trees on this site safe, and can you show that you checked? Work is carried out by a team with over ten years in commercial tree surgery.
Landlords and Letting Agents
Hedge and tree maintenance between tenancies, work flagged at inspection, and storm damage on let properties, quoted in writing for approval.
Housing Associations
Trees and hedges across housing stock, from planned maintenance rounds to reported problems on individual properties.
Schools and Nurseries
Trees over playgrounds, paths and car parks checked and maintained, with work scheduled for weekends or holidays where it suits.
Farms, Estates and Paddocks
Field boundary trees, hedgerows, ash dieback along lanes and lapsed pollards, plus clearance of overgrown ground.
Developers and Construction
Site clearance, felling and removals ahead of works, alongside a consulting arboriculturist where a scheme needs a formal survey.
Property and Facilities Management
Car park and boundary trees across managed sites, including local authority land, with quotes to suit your approval process.
Local Authorities and Parish Councils
Trees on public land, verges and open spaces, including planned rounds and reactive work after storms.
Pubs, Care Homes and Retail
Trees over beer gardens, entrances, seating and parking, worked on at quiet times so trading is not disrupted.
Duty of Care and Why Records Matter
Whoever occupies or controls land has a duty to take reasonable care that trees on it do not injure people or damage property. It applies to a letting agent managing a terrace, a school with an oak over the playground and a business with limes along the car park, and it does not transfer to the contractor who does the cutting.
The word that decides everything is reasonable. Nobody is expected to have every tree surveyed by a specialist every year. The approach set out by the National Tree Safety Group, whose guidance is widely used in the UK, is proportionate management: look harder at trees where people gather, check after major storms, act on what you find, and keep a simple record that you did.
That record is the part most sites are missing. When an insurer, a governing body or a claimant's solicitor asks what was known about a tree before it failed, a dated note with a few photographs is worth far more than a recollection. It is also cheap: the checking is the work, and writing it down takes minutes.
We give you findings in plain terms after any inspection, with the options set out, so there is something to file. For sites with a number of trees, agreeing an annual visit plus a post-storm check is usually more economical than reacting to each problem separately.
General guidance rather than legal advice. Your insurer may have specific requirements for trees on your site, and those take precedence.
What You Get With a Commercial Quote
A free written quote. Priced by the job, in writing, so it can be passed to a landlord, head office, governors or an insurer before anything is agreed.
Planned work or a fast response. Sites can be put on a planned maintenance programme, with an agreed round of visits, or handled reactively when something needs dealing with. Multiple sites can be covered on the same visit where they are close enough together.
Qualified, insured people. Tree work is carried out by NPTC-qualified tree surgeons, with Lantra training, forestry first aid across the team and CSCS cards for site work. The business carries public and employers liability insurance, and certificates are supplied with the quote for your records.
Permissions handled. Where a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order or sits in a conservation area, we make the application or notice to the council for you, free of charge. Conservation area notices take six weeks, so it pays to start early on a site with a fixed programme.
Work scheduled around you. Within our hours of 8am to 6pm, seven days a week, jobs can be timed for weekends, school holidays or before opening, so car parks, playgrounds and gardens stay usable.
Waste dealt with. Brash is chipped on site and removed, or left as mulch where it is useful. Businesses carry a duty of care for waste leaving their premises, so carrier details can be provided with the paperwork.
Where the Responsibility Sits
Let Property
Trees and hedges in a let property's garden are normally the landlord's responsibility for structural safety and major work, with tenants expected to handle routine garden upkeep, subject to what the tenancy agreement says. Agents usually arrange the work and recharge it, which is why a written quote matters more than a verbal price.
Boundaries and Neighbours
A neighbour may cut overhanging growth back to the boundary line, but no further, and the cuttings remain the tree owner's property. Where a tree is protected, permission is needed first regardless of which side the branches are on.
Highways and Public Access
Trees on private land overhanging a public road or footpath remain the landowner's responsibility, and the highway authority can require them to be cut back. Trees on council land are the council's. If a fallen tree is creating immediate danger to traffic, that is a 999 call.
Construction Sites
On a development, tree work sits inside the site's wider health and safety duties, and protected trees or planning conditions often govern what can be removed. Where a scheme needs a tree survey to BS 5837 or an arboricultural method statement, that is produced by a consulting arboriculturist. We carry out the work on the ground.
General information, not legal advice. Tenancy agreements, leases and planning conditions vary, and they decide the position on any given site.
Trees on Your Site to Sort Out?
Send photos or a site list for a provisional figure, or call between 8am and 6pm, seven days a week, to arrange a visit.
Commercial Tree Surgery Questions
Common questions from agents, schools, estates and site managers.
Do you work for landlords and letting agents?
Yes, along with housing associations and property managers. Routine maintenance between tenancies, work identified at inspection and storm damage are all regular. Quotes come in writing so they can be passed to a landlord or head office for approval, and sites can be put on a planned programme.
Can you provide proof of insurance and qualifications?
Yes, and they are supplied with the quote as standard. Our tree surgeons hold NPTC, Lantra and CSCS qualifications with forestry first aid across the team, and the business carries public and employers liability insurance, which is what a managing agent, insurer or governing body normally asks for.
How often should trees on a commercial site be checked?
There is no fixed legal interval. The accepted approach is proportionate: trees over car parks, footpaths, play areas and boundaries deserve a look at least annually and after major storms, with a simple dated record kept. Trees away from people matter far less.
Who is liable if a tree on our site injures someone?
Responsibility generally rests with whoever occupies or controls the land, under occupiers' liability and negligence. Courts look at whether reasonable steps were taken, which is why records of inspections and of acting on what was found matter. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Can work be done outside busy hours?
Within our operating hours of 8am to 6pm, seven days a week, work can be scheduled around your quietest times, including weekends. Car parks, school grounds and pub gardens are often easier at a weekend or before opening, and that can be arranged when quoting.
Do you work on construction and development sites?
Yes, for clearance, felling and removing trees ahead of works. Where a scheme needs a formal tree survey or an arboricultural method statement for planning, that is a consulting arboriculturist's job, and we work alongside one rather than producing the report ourselves.
Can you invoice on account with a purchase order?
Tell us what your process needs when you request a quote, including purchase order references and where invoices should go, and we will work to it. For repeat sites, a planned maintenance schedule agreed in advance usually works better than one-off call-outs.
Are you a registered waste carrier?
Green waste is chipped on site wherever possible and removed by a registered waste carrier. Businesses have a duty of care for waste leaving their premises, so carrier details can be provided with the paperwork for your records.