Crown reduction in Solihull

In Solihull, crown reduction is often the answer when a tree is too big but too valuable to lose. The classic case is an old oak in a Knowle or Dorridge garden, now spreading over the patio and the neighbour's roof. Around Park Road and Malvern Park, mature cedars are part of the scene. In Shirley and Monkspath it is more often a birch or a cherry that has outgrown a 1930s garden and blocks the light.

Branch and Bramble doesn't do the work. We pass your enquiry to one local tree surgeon who covers B90 to B94, B36 and B37, and they confirm a fixed price with you directly.

What crown reduction costs in Solihull

Prices include chipping and taking away the cuttings. A birch or cherry in a Shirley garden is usually a small or medium job, priced from photos. A mature oak or cedar in Knowle or near Malvern Park can easily pass 15 metres, and then it goes to a free survey. The crown reduction cost guide has worked examples, including one for Solihull.

What pushes the price up here

• Height. Old hedgerow oaks and cedars often pass 15 metres. Those are priced after a visit, as is anything over a roof or near cables.
• What's underneath. Branches over a conservatory or greenhouse have to be roped down, which takes a bigger crew.
• Long gardens. Knowle, Dorridge and Hockley Heath plots often put the tree more than 20 metres from the van. That adds around 15%.
• Combined jobs. A light reduction plus a crown lift over the drive is common. The specialist prices the pair together.
• More than one tree. Two or three trees cost about 1.8 times the price of one.
• Keeping the chippings. Leaving them for your borders takes about £75 off.

Pruning in Solihull's conservation areas

Notice isn't only for felling. Solihull says any tree in a conservation area over 75mm in diameter at 1.5m above ground is automatically protected. No cutting is allowed without first notifying the council. That covers a crown reduction or lift as much as a removal. Under the national rules the notice period is six weeks. Solihull asks for the standard treeworks form, sent to planning@solihull.gov.uk.

Some of the borough's conservation areas are defined partly by their trees:

• Solihull town centre. The appraisal, last updated in December 2023, notes that the area runs east along Park Road to take in part of the former carriage drive to Malvern Hall, lined by a row of mature cedars. It also picks out mature trees in the churchyard and along Church Hill Road and Park Road.
• White House Way. This 1960s estate became a conservation area in 1999. Its 2025 refreshed appraisal singles out the oaks around the pond and a tall stand of Scots pines by the flats as retained features.
• Knowle, Olton, Station Approach Dorridge and Hampton-in-Arden are conservation areas too. Check the boundary on the council's Conservation, Heritage and Enforcement map.

For a tree with its own TPO, you need consent. Solihull asks for a clear and precise description of the work and says annotated photographs help. "Reduce the crown by 2 metres all round, cutting to suitable growth points" is the kind of wording that works. "Cut back" is not.

What Solihull will and won't prune

Solihull's Forestry Team looks after trees in roads, parks and open spaces. Trees in gardens are the owner's responsibility. The council's position on its own trees is a useful guide to how it views heavy pruning generally.

• No pruning for light. It won't prune or fell council trees to improve light to a property, including for solar panels, and says there is no legal right to light.
• No height cuts on tall trees. It won't reduce the height of tall trees that seem overgrown, because that kind of work could damage the tree in the longer term.
• No pruning for nuisance. It won't prune for leaf fall, honeydew or sap, fallen fruit, or birds nesting or roosting. Nesting birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
• Waiting times. An inspection can take up to three months, with up to three more for any work it decides is needed.

On protected private trees, Solihull says solar panels, existing or planned, are no justification for excessive reduction or removal. A TPO also makes it an offence to top or lop the tree without consent. A balanced reduction, a crown thin or a crown lift is far more likely to be accepted than a heavy cut. Our guide to reduction, pollarding and topping explains the difference.

You can cut back branches from a neighbour's tree that overhang your property, but the council says to check for a TPO first. Our guide on overhanging branches covers the boundary rule.

What the job involves

1. Agreeing the target. You and the specialist agree how much height and spread to lose and which limbs matter most, such as those over the roof.
2. Paperwork. If the tree is in a conservation area or has a TPO, the specialist helps you describe the work for the form. The work waits for the notice period or consent.
3. Climbing and cutting. A climber works out along the limbs, cutting each one back to a side branch that can take over, in line with BS 3998.
4. Clearing up. Cuttings are lowered, chipped and taken away, and the crown is checked for balance from the ground.

If the tree really has outgrown the garden, tree removal may be the better answer. For a tree with a history of cutting back to the same points, pollarding may suit it.