Fully, public liability and employers’ liability, and we’ll send you the certificates before we start if you’d like to see them. Ask any tree surgeon for theirs. If they hesitate, don’t use them.

Tree Surgeon in Thames Ditton | Treemedic Ltd

Looking for a tree surgeon in Thames Ditton? Treemedic are based in Hersham, about ten minutes away, and we’ve been working across Thames Ditton, Weston Green, Giggs Hill and Long Ditton for years.

Tree pruning, crown reduction, felling, stump grinding, hedge cutting and 24/7 emergency call-outs. We’re NPTC qualified, insured for all of it, we work to BS3998, and our quotes are free and written down.

Before you book anyone, know that Thames Ditton has three conservation areas (the village core, Giggs Hill Green and Weston Green), with another at Long Ditton next door. A lot of the village sits inside one of them, and that affects what you can do to a tree. We check as part of the quote. Call 07522 167 197 and we’ll come and take a look.

Our Tree Surgery Services in Thames Ditton

We cover the full range of tree surgery and arboricultural work in Thames Ditton including:

Tree Pruning & Crown Reduction – Thinning and reducing trees that have grown too close to period houses and listed roofs.
Tree Felling & Removals – Section by section, out through the house or over the roof if there’s no other way.
Stump Grinding – Stumps ground down to around 300mm, leaving the ground clear to level off.
Hedge Cutting & Maintenance – Front and back hedges kept trimmed, for homes and commercial sites.
Tree & Hedgerow Planting – Putting in new trees and hedges, and giving them a proper start.
Emergency Tree Work – Ten minutes away for storm damage and fallen trees, at any hour.

Everything is done to BS3998, the British Standard for tree work.

Thames Ditton Is a Roadside Village, and It Shows in the Access

Elmbridge’s own conservation area statement describes Thames Ditton as a tightly knit settlement with a complex local road pattern, “more of a roadside than a riverside village.” Anyone who’s tried to get a chipper down Summer Road or round the back of the High Street will know exactly what that means.

Narrow lanes, tight frontages and a lot of properties with no rear access. Sectional dismantling through the house or over the roof is routine here rather than exceptional. It’s slower work, and we price it fairly upfront rather than turning up and adding to the bill on the day.

The village core

Around St Nicholas Church and the High Street the plots are old and the buildings are listed. Mature lime, plane and horse chestnut sit tight against period property, and the work has to be planned carefully before anyone leaves the ground.

The riverside and Boyle Farm

Down towards the Thames and Thames Ditton Island you get willow, poplar, alder and crack willow on ground that holds water for much of the year. Roots don’t hold well in ground that wet, so this end of the village is where trees tend to go over after a decent blow.

Giggs Hill and the Rythe

Giggs Hill Green was low-lying marsh by the River Rythe before it was drained, and the ground still tells you so. Oak, chestnut and lime around the green, with the damp-ground species along the Rythe corridor.

Weston Green and the newer roads

Post-war gardens full of cherry, birch, conifer and ornamentals that have long outgrown them. Here it’s the thirty-foot leylandii that was planted as a screen, the birch three metres from a bay window, and the cherry with decay in its base that looks fine until it isn’t.

We explain the plan before we start, keep things tidy while we work and leave the place clean. One conifer or a big lime over a listed roof, you get the same crew and the same cover.

Thames Ditton’s Conservation Areas

More of the village is protected than most residents realise.

Thames Ditton Conservation Area. Designated by Surrey County Council on 31 July 1973, extended by Elmbridge on 29 July 1987 and again on 7 October 2009. It covers the historic core of the village and includes the Norman Church of St Nicholas (Grade I listed), the former Home of Compassion (Grade II*) and a number of other listed buildings. The 2009 extension took in 1–11 Speer Road, the United Reformed Church on Speer Road, and part of the rear garden at 30 Station Road.

Giggs Hill Green Conservation Area. Designated by Elmbridge on 24 February 1977 and extended in 2009. It’s based on the large open green south of the village, which was low-lying marsh by the River Rythe before it was drained. Cricket has been played there since 1838. The 2009 extension added Essex House, Leicester House, Gresham House and Raleigh House in Ditton Close, plus numbers 11, 15, 15a and 26 Angel Road.

Weston Green Conservation Area. Designated by Elmbridge on 24 February 1977. Check before any work if you’re anywhere near the green.

Long Ditton Conservation Area, next door, was designated on 23 November 1994 and includes the Grade II listed St Mary’s Church and churchyard, the remains of the previous church and the locally listed Manor House.

A joint Character Appraisal and Management Plan for Thames Ditton and Giggs Hill Green was endorsed by full Council on 7 October 2009, and there’s an active Conservation Area Advisory Committee, so applications here get looked at closely.

What that means for your tree

If your tree sits inside any of these boundaries and has a trunk over 75mm diameter measured at 1.5m from the ground, you must give Elmbridge Borough Council six weeks’ written notice before any work. That includes pruning, not just felling. During those six weeks the council can serve a Tree Preservation Order on it.

You can check this for your own address on Elmbridge Council’s Thames Ditton conservation areas page.

If the tree already has a TPO, you need formal consent, which usually takes eight weeks or more. Working on a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence. Felling or destroying one can mean an unlimited fine, and other unauthorised work, such as pruning, up to £2,500.

Part of every quote is checking whether your tree is protected. If it needs an application, we write and send it, with the arboricultural case Elmbridge want to see rather than a one-line request that’s likely to be refused. It’s something we do a lot of.

What that means for your tree – Treemedic Ltd

Wet Ground, the Rythe and the Thames

Thames Ditton has water on two sides, the Thames to the north and the River Rythe running through Giggs Hill, and it shapes a lot of the tree work here.

When the ground near the Thames and the Rythe is soaked for months, bigger trees lose a lot of their grip. A mature poplar or willow there can be brought down by a normal winter storm, not just a big one.

These are the signs we’d want to hear about.

A tree leaning that didn’t used to
Earth heaving up or splitting on one side of the trunk
The soil shrinking back from around the trunk
The trunk shifting at ground level in wind, when it should only bend higher up

Crack willow cracks, and much of what grows along the Rythe and the riverside is now old enough to drop limbs. Reducing or pollarding on a regular cycle keeps the weight off, and it’s a lot cheaper than dealing with one that’s come down.

Emergency Tree Work in Thames Ditton

We’re ten minutes away in Hersham and we run a 24-hour call-out with a staffed emergency line. You’ll speak to a person, not a voicemail.

Common call-outs here:

Whole trees uprooted on saturated riverside and Rythe-corridor ground
Limbs blown down onto fences, drives and cars
A tree hung up in the one next to it after a storm, which is dangerous, so keep clear and leave it to us
Branches into roofs and conservatories
Trees blocking the narrow lanes, which in Thames Ditton can cut off access to a whole street

If anyone is injured or trapped, call 999. If the tree is on power lines, call 105, the free national number for downed lines. Those calls come first; we’ll deal with the tree once the scene is safe.

For everything else, call 07522 167 197 any time and we’ll tell you whether it needs someone out tonight or whether it can safely wait until morning.

Oak Processionary Moth in Thames Ditton

Elmbridge is inside the affected area for OPM, and Thames Ditton sits opposite Hampton Court Park, close to established populations. Between May and July, look for caterpillars moving nose-to-tail up an oak trunk and white silky nests. Don’t try to remove it, and never pressure-wash a nest. Photograph it from a safe distance and send it over. Identification is free.

Removing it is specialist work, and we’re Lantra-trained in it. More on OPM and how we remove it safely →

Thames Ditton, in Short

Ten minutes from Hersham, and we know the narrow lanes and no-rear-access streets before you have to explain them
Three conservation areas, plus Long Ditton next door, and we check yours before quoting
BS3998 work across the board, from hedge cutting and stump grinding to crown reduction and felling
We know which council to notify, Elmbridge or Kingston, depending on exactly where you are
Insured and NPTC qualified, and you can see the certificates first
Free written quotes, and the quoted price doesn’t change on the day

Tree Surgeon in Thames Ditton: Common Questions

Do I need permission to cut down a tree in Thames Ditton?

Quite possibly. Thames Ditton has three conservation areas (the village core, Giggs Hill Green and Weston Green), plus Long Ditton next door, and a good number of TPOs. Inside a conservation area, any tree over 75mm trunk diameter at 1.5m needs six weeks’ written notice to Elmbridge before any work, pruning included. We check before quoting.

How do I find out if my tree is protected?

Elmbridge publish the conservation area maps and hold the TPO register. Or just ask us. We check it as part of every Thames Ditton quote and we’ll tell you exactly where you stand.

How long does an application take?

A conservation area notice is six weeks from when the council receives it. A TPO consent application is usually eight weeks or longer. If you’re working to a deadline, start early. It’s the most common reason jobs here get delayed.

My property has no rear access. Can you still do the work?

Yes, it’s normal in Thames Ditton. We take it down in sections and bring everything out through the house on boards and sheets, or rigged over the roof. It takes longer than an open-access job and we price it accordingly, but we’ll tell you what’s involved upfront rather than discovering it on the day.

I’m in Surbiton. Is that the same council?

No. Surbiton falls under the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, not Elmbridge, so the notice goes to a different authority. We cover both and we’ll check the right one for your address.

I’ve got a big tree near the river that’s started leaning. Should I worry?

Probably, yes. Leaning combined with lifted or cracked ground on one side suggests root plate movement, and on saturated ground near the Thames or the Rythe that’s a tree that can come over in an ordinary winter storm. Get it inspected.

Can I cut back branches overhanging from next door?

You’re entitled to cut back to the boundary line and should offer the cuttings back. If the tree has a TPO you need the council’s consent first, and if it’s in a conservation area you need to give six weeks’ notice, even for overhanging growth. In Thames Ditton, assume it might be protected until you’ve checked.

Are you insured?

Yes, with public liability and employers’ liability both covered. We’ll send the certificates ahead of the job if you want to see them, and it’s worth asking anyone else you’re considering for the same.

What happens to the waste?

We take it with us. Our waste carrier registration with the Environment Agency is CBDL644967, and everything goes to licensed facilities. If you’d like logs for the fire, say so when we quote and we’ll leave the timber cut to size.

Areas We Cover in and Around Thames Ditton

We cover Thames Ditton including the village core and High Street, Giggs Hill Green, Weston Green, Boyle Farm Road, Speer Road, Station Road, Summer Road, Angel Road and the riverside, along with Long Ditton and Hinchley Wood.

We’re across the rest of Elmbridge daily: Hersham, East Molesey, Esher, Walton on Thames, Cobham, Weybridge and Claygate. Plus Surbiton, Kingston and Richmond.

Not sure if we cover your postcode? Give us a ring and we’ll tell you straight away.