Crown lifting is one of the simpler jobs in our line of work to explain, and one of the most useful for day-to-day life around a Nottingham garden or driveway. It's the removal of a tree's lowest branches to raise the height of its canopy — opening up space to walk, park, mow or simply see clearly underneath.

What Crown Lifting Achieves

By removing the lowest tier of branches, crown lifting raises the point at which the canopy begins, clearing space at ground level without touching the overall shape or size of the tree above that point. It's a targeted, relatively quick job compared to a full reduction or thinning.

Common reasons Nottingham homeowners ask for it include branches overhanging a driveway or pavement, low growth blocking a view from a window or a garden seating area, and branches that are simply in the way of mowing or general access.

Legal Clearance for Roads and Pavements

If your tree overhangs a public pavement or road, there are minimum clearance heights that should be maintained — generally around 5.2 metres over a road and 2.3 metres over a footpath, to allow buses, lorries and pedestrians to pass safely underneath. As a homeowner, you're generally responsible for maintaining this clearance even where the tree oversails from your own boundary.

We regularly carry out this kind of clearance work across Nottingham for homeowners who've had a letter from the council, or who simply want to get ahead of the issue before it becomes one.

How Much Can Be Removed Safely

As with reduction and thinning, there are limits to how much of a tree's lower crown can be removed in one go without causing stress or an unbalanced appearance. A good rule of thumb we work to is leaving at least two-thirds of the tree's total height in live crown after lifting — removing too much from the bottom leaves a tree looking top-heavy and can affect its structural stability.

We'll assess your specific tree and tell you honestly how much can be lifted safely, and if a bigger change is needed, whether that should happen gradually.

Combining Crown Lifting With Other Work

Crown lifting is often carried out alongside a light thinning or reduction, particularly if a tree needs attention throughout the crown rather than just at the bottom. We'll always give you one clear recommendation and one clear price, rather than a list of confusing options.

Booking Crown Lifting in Nottingham With Herring

Every crown lifting job we carry out in Nottingham is fully insured and starts with a free, no-obligation quotation, so you know exactly what to expect before any work begins. We're a local, experienced team — not a national call centre passing your job on to a subcontractor — so when you book with Herring Trees & Landscaping, we're the ones who turn up and do the work, from the first site visit through to the final clean-up.

For the full range of tree surgery services we provide across Nottingham, visit our Tree Surgery Nottingham page. And if you've also got hedges that need bringing under control, our Hedge Maintenance Nottingham page covers everything we offer there.

As well as Nottingham itself, we regularly carry out crown lifting across Wollaton, Beeston, West Bridgford, Carlton and the wider Nottinghamshire area. If you're not sure whether we cover your particular street or village, just ask — in most cases the answer is yes.

Getting started is simple: call us or fill in the enquiry form below and tell us a little about the tree and what you're hoping to achieve. We can usually give you an idea of cost over the phone, and we're happy to arrange a site visit where a more detailed look is needed. Once you're happy with the quote, we'll agree a date that works for you, carry out the work to the standard set out above, and leave the site fully cleared before we go.

Herring Trees & Landscaping — professional tree surgery

Ready to book Crown Lifting in Nottingham, or still have a question?

Get In Touch →

Why Choose Herring

Fully Insured
Free Quotations
Local, Experienced Team
Waste Cleared as Standard