Where we work.

Dover town

The town wards from Aycliffe on the western clifftop, through the Buckland, Tower Hamlets and Town & Castle valleys, up to Maxton and Elms Vale in the west. Most of the older streets fall inside one of Dover District Council's 57 conservation areas, which means s.211 notice applies to any tree in a hedge with a stem over 75 mm at 1.5 m. Soils are mixed: thin chalky loam on the ridges, deeper Dour-valley loam through the terraces along London Road and Barton Road.

• Aycliffe — western clifftop, cliff-edge salt exposure, Griselinia and Elaeagnus territory.
• Buckland — Victorian terraces stepping up the valley sides; privet, laurel and legacy leylandii dominant. Buckland Estate CA.
• Tower Hamlets and St Radigund's — older terraced ward with small front gardens and long thin rears; parts inside the Town Centre CA.
• Maxton, Elms Vale & Priory — inter-war suburban belt; larger plots, more mature hornbeam and beech screens.
• Town Centre & Castle — Market Square, the Maison Dieu frontage and Castle Hill flank; formal yew and box, historic railings.

The Dour valley and downland north-west

The chain of villages along the Dour, running up from the harbour through the water-meadow country to Kearsney Abbey park and out to Alkham. Deeper loam, more shelter, easier ground for hornbeam and beech. Kearsney Abbey and Russell Gardens sit in the middle of this belt; the Kent Downs National Landscape boundary starts just above.

• River — Dour-valley village, CT17; older stone cottages plus post-war infill.
• Kearsney — adjoins Temple Ewell; village plus lakeside parkland restored 2021.
• Temple Ewell — head of the Dour valley; edge of Lydden Temple Ewell NNR; some parish TPOs on churchyard yews.
• Whitfield — modern housing expansion at the A2/A256 junction; new-build laurel and photinia; DDC HQ.
• Also serve: Alkham, West Hougham.

The clifftop villages

The White Cliffs frontage villages east and south-west of the port. Chalk rendzinas: thin humic topsoil straight onto weathered chalk. Full south-westerly exposure. Salt burn November to February is a real problem for non-tolerant foliage. This is where a two-line hedge (outer salt-tolerant windbreak plus inner formal hedge) does its best work.

• St Margaret's-at-Cliffe — clifftop village with the South Foreland Lighthouse and St Margaret's Bay below; conservation area covers the historic core.
• Capel-le-Ferne — clifftop village on the B2011 towards Folkestone; Battle of Britain Memorial; open KWT chalk-cliff frontage.
• Also serve: Guston, Martin Mill, East Studdal, Kingsdown-edge properties.

Neighbouring rounds

Deal (CT14) — the Deal seafront gardens and the surrounding country need coastal-tolerant species and a slightly different cut window; we do cover it, quote per postcode.

Not sure if we cover your postcode?

Our standard round runs about 12 km from Dover Market Square. CT15 (Alkham, Guston, St Margaret's), CT16 (Dover town, Whitfield), CT17 (Maxton, Elms Vale, River) and the CT18/CT14 fringes (Capel-le-Ferne, Deal) all fall inside it. If you are further out, ask — we will either cover you or point you at someone who can.