South Birmingham has more tree rules per square mile than anywhere else in the city. Moseley, Selly Park, Bournville, Kings Norton and Northfield all have conservation areas, and in Bournville a private landlord, the Bournville Village Trust, has its own say over trees on freehold properties. Get the order of permissions wrong and a routine pruning job can turn into an enforcement letter.
Nearly all of B13, B14, B28, B29, B30, B31 and B38 is Birmingham City Council, with small edges in Solihull (parts of B14 and B28) and Bromsgrove (the southern fringe of B31 and B38).
Branch and Bramble does not do the work. We connect you with one local specialist for this patch, and your agreement is with them.
Garden waste and tips
Birmingham's paid garden waste collection was suspended in 2025 because of the bin strike, and everyone who had paid for 2025 was refunded. In January 2026 the council said the service could not return while the dispute went on. Check the council's garden waste page for the latest.
The patch's own tip is Kings Norton Household Recycling Centre, Lifford Lane, B30 3JJ. It is being redeveloped but stays open, with fewer booking slots than usual. Moseley, Hall Green and Kings Heath residents may find Tyseley, James Road, B11 2BA easier. Every visit needs a booking at least two hours ahead (cars up to six days in advance, vans up to seven), plus proof of a Birmingham address (booking page).
The local landscape
Moseley and Selly Park have large Victorian and Edwardian houses with deep gardens and trees to match: common lime, horse chestnut, copper beech, sycamore and the occasional huge London plane or Wellingtonia. Many are close to houses built long before anyone worried about root zones.
Bournville was built as a garden village, and the Trust's own design guide describes typical gardens as smaller at the front than the back, with mature trees, including fruit trees, at the rear. Front boundaries are often privet or beech hedges that the Trust wants kept.
Kings Heath, Stirchley and Cotteridge are mostly terraces with long, narrow gardens, often with no side access. Hall Green, Northfield and Kings Norton are largely interwar semis with conifer screens, fruit trees and sheds at the bottom of the garden. Druids Heath and West Heath have post-war and 1960s estates with smaller plots.
The River Rea and its tributaries run through the patch, and gardens along them tend towards willow, alder and damp ground.
Garden clearance in South Birmingham
Access is the biggest factor in clearance prices here. A Kings Heath or Stirchley terrace with no rear access means every bag goes through the hall, so specialists allow extra time for dust sheets and carrying. Clearances start from £220, with all waste removed.
Selly Oak and Bournbrook have a large number of shared student houses near the University of Birmingham, and their gardens tend to be left for years at a time. End-of-tenancy clearances for landlords usually mean overgrown garden clearance, bramble clearance and removal of rubbish that has collected outside.
Other common jobs:
- Clearing the bottom third of a long Moseley or Hall Green garden that has gone to bramble and self-sown sycamore
- Shed removal of old sheds and greenhouses before a garden redesign
- Green waste removal for people who have done their own pruning and have no brown bin to use
- Hedge trimming of privet and beech frontages in Bournville, where the Trust expects hedges to be kept in good order
Lifford Lane does not take commercial vehicles, so clearance waste goes through licensed sites. Read our fly-tipping guide before accepting a cheap cash offer. See the South Birmingham garden clearance page or all clearance services.
Local questions
I own my house freehold in Bournville. Do I still need the Trust's permission to cut a tree?
To fell it, yes, if your home is within the Bournville Village Trust's Scheme of Management. The Trust's 2024 design guide says felling needs its approval and will be refused unless the tree is dead, dying or dangerous, with a replacement planted. Thinning and maintenance done for the tree's health don't need its approval. If the tree also has a TPO or is in the conservation area, the council's rules apply as well: get the council's consent or give notice first, then send a copy to the Trust.
Is all of Moseley a conservation area?
No. The Moseley and St Agnes conservation areas cover much of the older part of Moseley, but not every street. Check the maps in the council's conservation area documents, or ask the specialist to check before quoting. Inside the boundary, most garden trees need six weeks' notice.
Is Kings Norton tip open while it is being rebuilt?
Yes. The council says Lifford Lane stays open during the redevelopment, but fewer booking slots may be available. If you can't get a slot, Tyseley (James Road, B11 2BA) is the next nearest Birmingham site.
Can you clear a student house garden before the new tenants move in?
Tell us the move-in date on the quote form and include photos of the whole garden and the route from the street. The local specialist will confirm whether they can do it in time when they give you a fixed price.