A small, family run tree surgery team in Ickleton, looking after trees across Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
We're passionate about trees and about giving every customer an excellent service. Crown reductions, felling, deadwood, hedges and the council notices for trees in conservation areas, all handled for you.
- 5.0 from 141 Google reviews
- Ickleton, Saffron Walden
- 5.0 starsfrom 141 Google reviews
- Family runa small team, passionate about trees
- Three countiesEssex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire
- Council noticessent for you in conservation areas
Our work, set out like a works schedule
When we notify the council about trees in a conservation area, every tree gets a number and a clear line of work. It's a good habit, so here's what we do in the same plain format.
- T1
Crown reductions
Taking a crown back by a measured amount, often to its previous pruning points. Our recent notices and applications cover ash, whitebeam, beech, yew, pine, apple and plum.
- T2
Felling
When a tree has to go, we take it down to ground level.
- T3
Deadwood
Clearing out deadwood, like the eucalyptus we tidied up after it had been fighting back from a cold winter.
- T4
Thinning and cutting back
Thinning overhanging growth such as blackthorn and hawthorn, done to the written estimate we give you before we start.
- T5
Hedges
Neglected hedges cut back and tidied up, like a very neglected laurel hedge we tidied up this August.
- T6
Clearing up
We sweep up everything that falls and clean up lawns and paths, including the way in to the job.
Not sure what your tree needs? Tell us about it and we'll get back to you.
Tree in a conservation area? We send the notice for you.
Before work starts on a tree in a conservation area, the council has to be told. It's called a Section 211 notice, and the council then has six weeks to consider whether the tree should be protected.
We send the notice to the council for you, as your agent, with each tree and the work set out clearly. Once the six weeks are up, the work can go ahead, as long as it's done within two years of the notice.
“Afnan, Steve, Harry & Team delivered a brilliant service that more than met expectations. From approval application stage through to execution, they were consistent, transparent, efficient, timely, and good-humoured. It was a complex project and I could not recommend them highly enough.”
Recent paperwork
Tree works notices we've sent
Widdington
2026
- Beech: reduce crown by 3m
- Yew: reduce crown by 2m
Council decision: no objections
Saffron Walden
2025
- Yew: 2.5 metres crown reduction
- Pine: 5 metre crown reduction
- One tree felled to ground level
Wendens Ambo
2024
- Two plum trees: crown reductions of 0.5 and 1 metre
- Two apple trees: crown reductions of 2 and 1.5 metres
Newport
2024
- Ash and whitebeam: crowns reduced by 1.5 metres back to previous pruning points
Before and after
A very neglected laurel hedge, tidied up
August 2026
Before
Before
After
AfterAnother happy customer.
A big tree in a back garden
June 2026
Same garden, same fence, same trellis. On the left, before we started. On the right, the same view when we'd finished.
Before
After
“I rang Happy Branches at 7.00 on a Saturday morning- my cat was stuck up a 40 foot tree. Within the hour they had set off to come and rescue him.
Afnan climbed the tree and made friends with my very very feisty cat. Popped him in a cat carrier and abseiled down the tree with him.”
“Job done and my eternal thanks. Never used these tree surgeons before in any capacity, but now will never use anyone else for either tree management or rescuing cats.”
Angie · Google review
Trees we've looked after
What our customers say
We're rated 5.0 out of 5 from 141 reviews on Google. A few of them, word for word:
“Afnan and Harry cleared lots of deadwood from a eucalyptus that was fighting back after a cold winter. We'll definitely welcome Afnan back: the team were responsive, friendly and efficient. Also a fair rate. Especially impressed with the clear up and the tidy pile of logs they kindly cut for our firepit. Tip: get the doughnuts in!”
“I would recommend Happy Branches to anyone needing tree surgery in their gardens. Happy, skilled and competent workers, the trees looked amazing after and the lawns have never looked so clean after the boys had swept up everything that had fallen. Happy customer!”
“This is a most efficient and helpful tree surgery team. Afnan and his assistant arrived promptly, and carried out all the work in thinning overhanging blackthorn and hawthorn exactly as discussed and specified in their estimate. They also took great care in cleaning up the pathway to the work site, which was over 100 metres from where the chipper truck was installed. All in all, impeccable service.”
Who we are
Happy Branches is Afnan Saeed and a small, family run team, based at The Stackyard in Ickleton. We are passionate about trees and about giving all of our customers an excellent service.
We cover Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. Some jobs are a single tree in a back garden. Others are complex projects that need the council's go-ahead first, and we handle that side too. We give you an estimate before we start, and we leave the place tidy when we go.
Closer to home, our bark chippings have gone into the no-dig flower beds of a new local flower farm.
Where we work
We're based in Ickleton, just outside Saffron Walden, and we look after trees across Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Villages and towns on our recent tree works notices
- Saffron Walden
- Newport
- Wendens Ambo
- Widdington
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Cambridgeshire
Get a quote
Tell us what the tree or hedge is doing and where it is, and we'll get back to you.
- Phone
- 01799 530336
- Base
- 6 The Stackyard, Ickleton, Saffron Walden CB10 1TG
- Happy Branches Tree Surgery