Tree Surgeons in Stockbury

Stockbury is one of our nearest villages. Our yard is in Detling, at the bottom of Detling Hill, and Stockbury is just up the A249 towards the M2. That short run makes it quick and cost-effective for us to get the team, chipper and kit to you, whether it’s a single tree in the garden or a day’s work along a field boundary.

Connor, Ethan and Ben are NPTC and City & Guilds qualified arborists and we work to BS 3998:2010, the British Standard for tree work. We look after private homes, farms, smallholdings and land across Stockbury, from the village on the top of the Downs down into the valley.

A village on the Downs, a parish in the valley

Stockbury is a different place from the villages at the foot of the scarp. The parish council describes most of the parish as lying in a valley between Key Street near Sittingbourne and Detling Hill. The village itself sits up on the chalk, around the Grade I listed Church of St Mary Magdalene, with the earthworks of a Norman ringwork castle (a scheduled monument) right beside the churchyard.

The parish is within the Kent Downs National Landscape (formerly the Kent Downs AONB). The Kent Downs landscape assessment for this area describes steep, rolling valleys, a mosaic of woodland, much of it ancient, large arable fields, narrow lanes, and surviving orchards that include traditional cherry orchards near Stockbury. It’s a lovely setting, but it brings its own kind of tree work:

• Large, exposed trees. Trees on high, open ground take the full force of the wind. Crown reduction and crown thinning reduce the sail effect and the weight on long limbs, which lowers the chance of storm damage.
• Trees near houses, barns and power lines. Where a tree is too big for its spot or is failing, our tree removal service dismantles it in sections and clears everything away.
• Woodland edges and deadwood. Garden boundaries that back onto woods often collect dead and hanging branches. Deadwood removal makes them safe over gardens, paddocks and footpaths.
• Lanes and driveways. Crown lifting gives clearance for cars, tractors, horseboxes and delivery lorries on narrow lanes and long drives.

Hedgerows, field boundaries and orchards

The Kent Downs assessment lists the roadside hedgerows here as blackthorn, field maple, hawthorn, hazel, holly and sycamore, and they grow fast. We offer hedge trimming and shaping for garden hedges and long boundary runs, and hedge removal where a hedge has failed or needs replacing.

A quick note on countryside hedgerows. A hedge in or around your garden is usually fine to remove. But a hedgerow 20m or longer that runs alongside farmland or other countryside land can need a Hedgerow Removal Notice to the council before it’s taken out. We’ll flag this before we quote. We also plan hedge cutting around nesting birds. See when to cut hedges to avoid nesting birds.

Got old or overgrown fruit trees in the garden? Careful restorative pruning, spread over a few winters, can bring them back into shape without shocking the tree.

Land, paddock and plot clearance

Stockbury has plenty of land that gets away from people: paddocks lost to bramble, overgrown corners, self-seeded scrub along fences and plots being prepared for stables, outbuildings or building work. Our site clearance and vegetation management service clears it in one go, and stump grinding takes stumps out below ground so the land can be mown, fenced or built on. As a registered waste carrier, we take the waste away with us. With our green waste site nearby in Detling, it doesn’t have to travel far.

Do Stockbury trees need permission?

Stockbury is in Maidstone borough, so tree protection here is handled by Maidstone Borough Council. Stockbury doesn’t appear on the council’s list of conservation areas, so the six-week conservation-area notice won’t usually apply. Individual trees and woodlands can still be protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), though, and work on a TPO tree needs the council’s consent, which can take up to eight weeks.

We’ll check the council’s records before we start. For the full picture, read our guide Do I need permission to cut down a tree in Maidstone?

Why Stockbury customers use us

• Minutes away. We’re based in Detling, at the bottom of Detling Hill.
• £5 million public liability insurance.
• Registered waste carrier. All waste is removed and disposed of properly.
• Risk assessments and method statements on request, for farms, landowners and commercial sites.
• Qualified arborists (NPTC and City & Guilds) working to BS 3998:2010.
• 24/7 emergency call-outs if a tree comes down across a lane, drive or building. See our emergency tree work page. Routine work is booked in normal working hours.

We also work across Detling, Hucking, Bredgar, Hollingbourne and Bearsted. See all the areas we cover.

Nearby areas we cover

As well as Stockbury, we work in the other villages on and around the Downs, including Detling, Bredgar and Hollingbourne, and we cover Sittingbourne and Maidstone too.

Frequently asked questions

Is Stockbury in a conservation area?

Stockbury isn’t on Maidstone Borough Council’s list of conservation areas. Some trees may still have a Tree Preservation Order, so we check before any work starts.

Which council deals with tree permissions in Stockbury?

Maidstone Borough Council. Stockbury is a parish in Maidstone borough, even though some addresses have a Sittingbourne (ME9) postcode.

Can you clear a whole paddock or field edge?

Yes. We clear scrub, brambles, self-sown trees and stumps, and take the waste away. For larger areas, send us a few photos or a short video on WhatsApp first.

Do I need permission to remove a farm hedgerow?

Possibly. Countryside hedgerows 20m or longer next to farmland can need a Hedgerow Removal Notice. Garden hedges are generally exempt. We’ll advise before we quote.