Garden Clearance in Surrey

Name: Wild By Design
Price range: $$

Full and partial garden clearance for the gardens of Surrey and Sussex. Overgrown plots, brambles and scrub, unmanaged hedges, old structures and end-of-season tidy ups — cleared quickly, tidily, and with far more care for wildlife than a straight strim-and-skip.

We are an award-winning, BALI-accredited design, build and maintenance company based in Dorking. Clearance is usually the first step of something better — many clients move straight into a redesign, or hand the reclaimed space to our garden maintenance team to keep it that way.

Most garden clearance is a man with a strimmer and a stack of waste bags. Everything green goes in the skip — including the habitat — and the garden reverts to jungle within two seasons because nothing was done about why it got away in the first place.

Wildlife checked first

Before anything is cut we check for nesting birds, hedgehog runs and reptile refuges. Overgrown corners are usually the most wildlife-rich part of a garden.

Cleared and dealt with

Green waste is chipped and reused as mulch and paths where possible; the rest is removed and responsibly recycled. No bonfire scar, no bags left behind.

A plan for what’s next

Ground prepared for lawn, planting or a full redesign — and a maintenance cycle so the garden never gets away from you again.

Why most garden clearance goes wrong

A typical cheap clearance job usually looks like this:

wildlife and nesting checks before any cutting
brambles, scrub and self-seeded trees cleared, roots grubbed out
sheds, decking and old structures dismantled and removed
green waste chipped and reused, the rest responsibly recycled

Everything strimmed to the fence line in a day, wildlife habitat destroyed in the process, waste burnt or dumped — and by next summer the brambles are back exactly where they were.

What Wild by Design does differently

We clear in stages: wildlife check first, then scrub and brambles, then hedges and self-seeded trees (the big ones through our tree surgery team), then structures and ground preparation. Between March and August we plan around nesting birds, as the law requires.

stage-by-stage clearance: wildlife first, then scrub, hedges, structures
nesting season (March–August) planned around, as the law requires
habitat worth keeping identified before anything is cut
ground left ready for lawn, planting or a full redesign

The result is a genuinely usable, tidy site — with the valuable habitat kept where you want it. Every job can start with a free habitat assessment so nothing worth keeping is lost.

What’s included in our clearance work

Wildlife checks, cutting and clearing, structure removal, chipping and recycling, and ground preparation — the whole job, in-house.

Woodchip woodland path with log stump edging created by Wild By Design in Surrey woodland management project

Overgrown Plots, Brambles and Scrub

Brambles, ivy, self-seeded sycamore and elder, bamboo that’s escaped its bed — we cut, grub out roots where needed, and prepare the ground so it doesn’t simply grow back next spring.

Sheds, Decking and Old Structures

Rotten sheds, collapsed fencing, tired decking and old concrete bases dismantled and cleared away — often the point where an overgrown plot starts to look like a garden again.

Living willow edging and garden boundaries Surrey by BALI accredited Wild By Design sustainable landscaping

Stacked log pile wildlife habitat created by Wild By Design in Surrey woodland for beetles and small mammals

Clearance With Wildlife in Mind

Nesting birds, hedgehogs, slow-worms and stag beetles all favour exactly the corners that need clearing. We survey first, time the work lawfully, and keep the best habitat features where you want them.

From Cleared Site to Finished Garden

Because we design, build and maintain gardens in-house, clearance flows straight into whatever comes next — new lawn, planting, a full redesign, or a regular maintenance cycle.

How much does garden clearance cost in Surrey?

It depends on the volume of growth, access, and whether structures need dismantling — a single overgrown border is a small job, a fully overgrown plot with old outbuildings is a bigger one. Every job is priced from a site visit, not over the phone.

Single border or overgrown corner: typically a half-day visit
Typical overgrown garden: one to two days including waste removal
Full plot with structures to dismantle: priced from a site walk-round
Every job: written, itemised quote before work starts

Every project gets a written, itemised quote after a site walk-round. No hidden extras, no surprise waste charges.

Areas of Surrey and Sussex we cover

We work across Surrey and Sussex from our Dorking base, including Dorking, Guildford, Reigate, Woking, Weybridge and Cobham. If you are anywhere within an hour of Dorking, we will come and take a look.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does garden clearance cost?

It depends on growth, access and waste volume. A border tidy is a modest job; clearing a fully overgrown plot with structures is priced accordingly. We quote in writing after walking the site with you — never over the phone.

Can you clear a completely overgrown garden?

Yes — heavily overgrown plots are our bread and butter. We work in stages: wildlife check, scrub and brambles, hedges and self-seeded trees, then structures and ground preparation, leaving a site ready to use or redesign.

When is the best time of year for garden clearance?

Autumn and winter are ideal for major clearance — growth is dormant and bird nesting season (March to August) is over. Lighter tidy-ups happen year-round; in nesting season we check and work around active nests, as the law requires.

Do you take away all the waste?

Yes. We chip and reuse what we can — mulch, path chippings, a habitat pile if you’d like one — and remove and responsibly recycle the rest. You won’t be left with bags.

Will clearance destroy the wildlife in my garden?

Almost never completely — and deliberately so. The overgrown corner is usually the most wildlife-rich part of the garden, so we check before cutting and suggest keeping a log pile or rough corner where it makes sense. Cleared thoughtfully, the garden is better for it.

Can you clear a garden before a house sale?

Yes — a garden clearance before a sale or at the start of a tenancy is one of the most common jobs we do. A cleared, tidy garden photographs well and adds real value.

How do I stop the garden getting overgrown again?

Clearance is step one; keeping it that way is step two. Our garden maintenance team puts the garden on a regular cycle — and our hedge cutting team gets reclaimed hedges back on an annual rhythm.

Book a clearance site visit

A clearance quote always starts with a walk round the site. We look at what’s growing, what’s living in it, access for machinery and waste, and what you want the space to become.

Get in touch

Or call the team direct, find the number on our contact page.