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Site clearance work on an overgrown plot in Sussex

Site
Clearance

Everything from a strimmed overgrown lawn to a full-scale construction site prep — vegetation, undergrowth, trees, the lot. All waste recycled as biomass.

Call 0800 567 7433

From lawn to landsite

Start with
a clean slate.

Site clearance covers a huge range — from a domestic garden that has simply got away from its owner, to pre-construction clearance on large commercial sites. Whatever the scale, the principles are the same: careful planning, efficient execution, and responsible disposal.

Serving Brighton, Hove, Ringmer, Lewes, Seaford, Shoreham, Henfield, Worthing and all surrounding BN postcodes.

01 — Scale

From lawn strim to landsite prep

Site Clearance can range from basic lawn strimming to the comprehensive removal of undergrowth and trees on large construction sites.

On smaller sites we often find customers have a neglected garden that has become overgrown and unmanageable, preventing them from moving forward with any landscaping project. We clear the slate, so they can begin.

02 — Process & disposal

Mulched, removed, recycled

On larger sites our services include mulching undergrowth and removing wooded areas to prepare the ground for the next use.

All debris we remove is recycled for biomass as per our Environmental Policy — nothing gets landfilled that doesn't have to be.

Signs to watch for

When you might
need this.

A shortlist of the scenarios that bring customers to this service — if any of them look familiar, it's probably time for a conversation.

Inherited a jungle

Bought a house with a garden that hasn't seen a mower in a decade. Brambles, ivy, self-seeded sycamore, dead lawn, decades of leaf litter. We reset the plot back to usable ground.

Pre-landscape clearance

Booked a landscaper or a new patio crew and need the site cleared down to bare earth before they arrive. We strip, stump-grind, and level — ready for hardcore or turf.

Pre-construction site prep

Planning granted, groundworks imminent, but the plot is still vegetation. We clear vegetation and trees in line with the felling plan, work within the environmental constraints, and hand over ready for civils.

Plot sale preparation

Selling a paddock, a wooded plot, or land with development potential. Clean presentation matters. We clear to whatever level the EA recommends for viewings.

Post-storm / post-neglect

Garden that's gone through a storm and been left. Trees down, debris strewn, fences gone. We clear, make safe, and reset the ground.

Invasive species present

Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, bamboo running into neighbours' plots. These need specific handling — we flag what we see and advise on whether specialist treatment is the right first step before clearance.

What to expect

How it works.

From the first phone call to the last leaf cleared — the order of operations on a typical Branchwalkers job.

  1. 01

    Site walk & scope

    We come out, walk the plot, and scope what's coming out, what's staying, where machinery can access, and what the finished level should look like. Free and no-obligation, like everything else.

  2. 02

    Quote & programme

    Back to you within 48 hours. For bigger jobs we'll quote a programme with day rates and a completion target. Waste disposal included in the price — we hold the waste carrier licence, so the chain of custody is straightforward.

  3. 03

    Permissions & surveys

    For larger plots or development clearance we may need a felling licence, a PEA (preliminary ecological appraisal), or a bat / dormouse / nesting-bird walkover. We advise on what's needed and arrange it where appropriate.

  4. 04

    Clearance

    Strim, cut, chip, stump-grind, rake. We start with the lightest vegetation and work up through the undergrowth to the trees, with the crew sized to the site. Machinery (MEWP, mini-excavator, chipper) where it earns its keep; hand-clearance where it's tight.

  5. 05

    Finish & disposal

    All arisings removed and processed for biomass — nothing landfilled that doesn't have to be. Ground raked or levelled to the spec. Waste transfer notes handed over. Photos before and after if you want them for records.

NPTC Qualified
Every surgeon on site fully certified to the industry standard. No exceptions.
Fully Insured
£10M public liability. Every job covered, every site secured.
Compliant & Safe
NPTC-certified, Safe Contractor approved — the right paper, every time.
Sussex-Focused
15+ years working the trees of Brighton, Hove and beyond. We know the ground.

In Sussex specifically

Working the local ground.

Two flavours of Sussex clearance dominate the workload. Domestic: older properties — Victorian terraces, post-war bungalows, mid-century cottages — where the garden has grown wild across a tenancy or between owners. Often a mix of mature self-seeded sycamore and ash, runaway leylandii, decades of ivy, and a layer of bramble over the whole thing. Commercial/plot: development sites across rural Sussex where permission's been granted for conversion or new build, and vegetation needs clearing inside the consented footprint with ecological constraints respected. Sussex in particular demands attention to dormouse populations (well-documented across the weald), bat roosts in older trees, and the March–August nesting-bird season. We'll also flag Japanese knotweed and bamboo where we find them — common enough to be a real factor on around one in fifteen clearance jobs we quote, and worth handling correctly up-front rather than spreading them across the site with a flail.

Frequently asked

Questions we hear often.

Straight answers to the questions that come up most often on site visits. Not here? Pick up the phone — we're happy to get into the detail.

How much can you clear in a day?

Wildly variable — it's about density and access. A domestic 10m × 20m garden gone to seed: often a single day with a two or three-man crew. Multi-acre plot with mature trees: a programme of several days with machinery. We'll give an honest hours/days estimate at quote.

What happens to the waste?

We hold a waste carrier licence and take all arisings off-site to a licensed processor. Green waste is chipped and recycled for biomass. Nothing we remove is landfilled that doesn't have to be, and you get a waste transfer note for every load.

Do you handle Japanese knotweed?

We identify it and flag it, but we don't treat it ourselves — specialist knotweed treatment is a licensed, multi-year programme that needs a dedicated contractor. We'll recommend one and coordinate our clearance around their treatment regime. Cutting knotweed and mixing it with general waste is how it spreads, so the sequencing matters.

Can you clear a site that has mature trees on it?

Yes — we handle the tree felling as part of the clearance. If the trees are TPO'd or the site is in a Conservation Area, we deal with the council paperwork first (TPO application, CA notice, felling licence if the volume qualifies). Trees and undergrowth come out in programme sequence.

Do I need planning permission for garden clearance?

For a normal domestic garden, no. For woodland or significant tree removal you may need a felling licence (Forestry Commission threshold). If trees have TPOs or sit in a Conservation Area, consent is required — we handle that. Large-scale development sites usually have clearance pre-agreed in the planning consent.

Will you grind the stumps out too?

Yes, as part of the clearance or as a return visit. We grind to below ground level so you can reseed, returf, or build over. For development sites we grind to the depth your civils spec requires.

Can you restore the ground to seed-ready condition?

Yes — after clearance and stump grinding we can rotavate, level, or leave the ground ready for turfing or seeding. Full landscaping (turf-lay, patio, planting) isn't our core service but we partner with local landscapers for the follow-on if wanted.

Domestic, commercial, or both?

Both. Single back-garden resets are a large part of the weekly workload; so are multi-acre plot clearances for developers, estate agents, and institutional landowners. The crew and the kit scale to the job.

Verified feedback

See what customers say.

Independently verified reviews on Checkatrade — filter by the kind of work to see how Branchwalkers handled it before.

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Ready for
a fresh start?

Whether it's a single back garden or a multi-acre landsite, we clear, recycle, and leave the ground ready for whatever you're building next.

0800 567 7433

Or request a quote online — replies within 48 hours

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