A printed quotation on a garden table with a pen and gardening gloves beside it

What an Exeter tree surgery quote should include

7 min read
Costs
A tree surgery quote in Exeter should describe the pruning, the waste route, the stump work, the insurance and every consent the job needs. This guide sets out the items a written quote should list so that two offers can be compared like for like.

A tree surgery quote is only as useful as the description of the work it contains. Two quotes can carry the same total and still describe completely different jobs, one covering a crown reduction with the brash removed and the other covering a cut back with the debris left on the lawn. A written quote for Exeter should say exactly what will be cut, what happens to the waste, what consents are needed and what is excluded, so that the owner can compare offers on the same basis and hold the contractor to the scope.

Specified pruning work

The core of the quote is the pruning or felling itself. A good description names each tree, gives its species and approximate height, and states the work to be carried out in terms that can be checked afterwards. "Crown reduction" on its own is not enough. The quote should say how much of the crown will be removed, which branches are to be taken out, whether any deadwood is to be cleared and whether the work is to a specific clearance distance from a building or boundary.

The method should also be stated. Felling by rope and harness, dismantling in sections, or lowering with a crane each costs differently and carries different risks. A quote that describes the method shows the owner what the crew intends to do, and it provides a baseline if the crew later wants to change it. Where the work is on a protected tree, the quote should also refer to the consent or notice that covers it, and should not start until that consent or notice is in place. The government's guidance on tree preservation orders and trees in conservation areas explains that anyone wanting to cut down, top, lop or uproot a tree subject to an order must first obtain the authority's consent, and a quote that treats consent as a formality should be questioned.

Owners should look for a clear statement of what is not included. Many quotes exclude work above a certain height, work on neighbouring trees, or the removal of material from the boundary. If an item is not listed, the owner should assume it may be an extra until the quote says otherwise.

Waste removal and chipping

Waste is one of the most common reasons two quotes differ. A quote should state whether the crew will chip the material on site, remove it from the property, leave it in piles or take it to a licensed site. Each choice carries its own cost and its own legal position. Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, anyone who produces or carries controlled waste has a duty of care over it, and a contractor who removes the material is expected to keep records of where it goes.

The guidance on disposing of business or commercial waste describes the transfer note that should accompany each load that leaves a premises. A quote that does not mention transfer notes, or that offers to dump the material informally, is a warning sign. The owner should ask the contractor to confirm the disposal route in writing and should keep the records for the property file.

Chipping is often offered as an alternative to removal. The quote should say how much material will be chipped, whether the chippings will be left on the property and whether the owner wants them. Chippings left on a lawn or border can smother turf, so the quote should describe where they will go.

Stump treatment

Stumps are often left out of the quote and then added later. The quote should say whether the stump is to be cut low, ground, removed or treated, and it should identify the cost of each option. Where a stump is to be ground, the quote should state the depth to which it will be reduced, whether the chippings are included in the price and whether the hole will be backfilled. Where the stump is to be removed completely, the quote should say whether the access will need to be widened or whether the ground will be reinstated afterwards.

Stump treatment with a product should be described by name and method, and the owner should ask whether the product is suitable for use near pets, children or a vegetable garden. The guide on why stump removal changes a quote explains the cost drivers in more detail, and it is a useful companion to this section.

A quote also shows how the contractor plans to protect the surfaces it will cross. Boards on a lawn, a ramp over a kerb and a cover over a block-paved drive all cost time, and an owner who asks for them to be listed avoids the discovery of damage after the crew has gone.

Insurance and consents

A quote should state that the contractor holds public liability insurance and should say what the cover is for. The owner is entitled to ask for a copy of the certificate, and a contractor who cannot provide one should not be engaged. The insurance question is practical, because damage to a neighbour's fence, a car or a roof can cost far more than the tree work itself. The owner should also ask whether the cover extends to damage on a neighbouring property, since many incidents involve a branch that lands on the boundary.

Consents are the other half of the paperwork. The quote should list every consent, notice, permit or licence that the job requires and say who is responsible for obtaining it. A tree preservation order requires consent from the local planning authority, which for Exeter is Exeter City Council, and a tree in a conservation area requires notice under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. If the work will affect the highway, a permit may also be needed from Devon County Council, and the quote should say which of these it has allowed for.

A useful test is to ask each contractor to read back the scope in their own words. If the summary differs from the quote, the difference is the point to resolve before acceptance. A short call often reveals assumptions that were never written down, such as whether the crew will carry the brash to the kerb or leave it at the gate. Owners who plan to keep the chippings should say so in writing, so that the crew does not load them into the skip by default.

What the total should show

The total price should be broken into the elements described above, so that the owner can see the cost of pruning, waste, stump work, consents and any access or permit fees. A single figure with no breakdown is hard to check and difficult to dispute later. The breakdown also helps the owner decide which elements to drop if the budget is tight, for example by arranging chipping with a neighbour or by leaving a stump until the next year.

The quote should state the validity period, the payment terms and the process for variations. A variation agreed during the work should be recorded in writing and signed off before the crew carries it out. The owner should also check how the contractor will handle emergencies, such as a limb that becomes unstable during the job.

The commercial tree service page describes the typical elements of a multi-visit quote, and the compliance service covers the documentation that tends to sit alongside the work. An owner who wants a like-for-like comparison can send a quote request that asks each contractor to price the same specification, including the waste route, the stump treatment and the consents.

For a tree on a street in Heavitree or a garden near the city centre, the access and the consents are often the items that move the price most. A quote that addresses them directly is easier to trust, and it is much easier to hold the contractor to account if the work does not match what was agreed.