Vegetation management on Britain's overhead network — from initial survey to final clearance, working safely alongside live powerlines up to 400kV.
11kV to 400kV
Vegetation near overhead power lines is a public safety issue and a supply-continuity issue. We handle the whole cycle — assessment, coordination with the Distribution Network Operator and landowners, and the clearance itself — with qualified, trained teams working to utility-sector standards.
Serving Brighton, Hove, Ringmer, Lewes, Seaford, Shoreham, Henfield, Worthing and all surrounding BN postcodes.
01 — Comprehensive management
Our team specialises in vegetation management on overhead powerlines from 11kV up to 400kV, taking a job from initial surveying through to the final clearing of trees and undergrowth.
We work safely alongside live powerlines, assessing risk and communicating with the Distribution Network Operator and landowners before any cutting begins.
02 — Why it matters
Vegetation in contact with — or close to — overhead lines creates two problems: a public safety hazard, and a risk of sustained power disruptions.
Regular, pre-emptive vegetation management prevents both, and keeps the network reliable for the people depending on it.
Signs to watch for
A shortlist of the scenarios that bring customers to this service — if any of them look familiar, it's probably time for a conversation.
Overhead-line corridors on a programmed inspection/clearance cycle. We survey, cost, schedule, and deliver — and turn in the documentation the DNO audit team needs at close-out.
New connections, reconductoring, pole-changes, or wayleave upgrades where vegetation has to come off before the line crew can work. We'll deliver the clearance in line with your outage window.
Trees on the line, conductor slap through canopies, off-network fallen specimens blocking access. We can mobilise quickly for reactive work across the south of England.
Boots-on-the-ground surveys that feed back into your vegetation management database — species, age, vigour, span-by-span risk rating. We record to your spec.
Clearance work on third-party land where access needs negotiation. We speak to the landowner, agree timing and reinstatement, and deliver without escalating the relationship.
Work inside SSSIs, near protected species, or within seasonal constraints (nesting, dormice, bats). We plan around the ecology, work to ecological method statements, and keep compliance evidence.
What to expect
From the first phone call to the last leaf cleared — the order of operations on a typical Branchwalkers job.
We walk the line with you — span by span, identifying species, clearances to conductors, encroachment, and priorities. Deliverables match your VM database format.
Method statement, RAMS, environmental checks, permit-to-work alignment with your SAP. Shutdowns coordinated if needed; live-line clearances planned with approved cut-to-clearance distances.
Where the corridor crosses third-party land, we handle the landowner correspondence and on-site agreements. Public notice at the point of works where required.
DNO-authorised crews, correct PPE and EPS, dedicated banksman, radio discipline. Whole-tree fells, sectional takedowns, and climbed reductions as the situation demands. Arisings chipped and processed.
Photographs pre- and post-works, waste transfer notes, completed permits, updated VM records. Everything the network audit team needs, in the format you specified at scoping.
In Sussex specifically
The south of England is UK Power Networks territory, with a mix of urban, suburban, and deeply rural overhead distribution crossing Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. The Sussex corridors in particular cross a lot of mixed-age woodland — oak, beech, and ash predominating, with ash dieback now a major driver of reactive and priority works across the region. We also see significant volumes of self-seeded sycamore and field maple on rural spans, and mature sycamore avenue trees on urban 11kV along the Brighton conurbation. Environmental constraints are real and specific: the South Downs National Park sits directly beneath thousands of span-miles of 11kV, 33kV and 132kV corridor; SSSI sites (Ashdown Forest, Ebernoe Common, the Downs themselves) need ecological method statements; and the whole region needs careful planning around the bird nesting window, March to August. We work to those constraints routinely.
Frequently asked
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.
Overhead line vegetation management from 11kV and 33kV distribution up to 132kV and 400kV transmission. Clearance distances and safe approach distances vary with voltage — our teams are trained to the relevant standards for each.
Yes. Our vegetation-management crews hold the relevant DNO authorisations and utility arboriculture certifications (Utility Arboriculture CPD, NPTC / City & Guilds qualifications, plus appropriate PASMA / IPAF where MEWPs are used). We keep records and can share them pre-contract.
Both, depending on the work and the voltage. Low-risk clearances at distance can often be done live; closer work is planned with the DNO's Senior Authorised Person under a permit-to-work arrangement. We're comfortable with either and will plan to whichever suits the programme.
We can. If you want us to handle landowner correspondence and site agreements on your behalf, that's part of the service on request. If your wayleave team prefers to handle it in-house, we'll work to whatever access terms you've arranged.
Ecological walkover before works for sensitive sites. Method statements signed off by your ECoW where required. Photographic evidence pre- and post-works. Waste transfer notes for all arisings removed. Records matching your audit format.
Yes, across the south of England. Our crews can mobilise for trees-on-line situations, post-storm corridor clearance, and emergency access creation for line crews. Scale depends on concurrent workload — we'll give an honest read at the point of call.
For planned cycle clearance we usually work six to twelve weeks ahead of delivery — enough time for scoping, landowner correspondence, permits, and crew scheduling. For urgent priorities we work shorter lead times by agreement.
Utility and rail contracts we travel nationally — but the south of England (Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire) is our core ops region and where we can mobilise fastest.
Adjacent services
Assessment, safe removal and management of declining ash across Sussex.
Mulching undergrowth, removing wooded areas — preparing land at scale.
Safe, rigged dismantling for trees near infrastructure and in restricted spaces.
Verified feedback
Independently verified reviews on Checkatrade — filter by the kind of work to see how Branchwalkers handled it before.
Read client reviews
Talk to us about your network. We'll scope, survey, and deliver the clearance work — DNO-compliant from start to finish.
0800 567 7433Or request a quote online — replies within 48 hours