How to hire
Start by matching the firm to the job. A mowing round keeps grass down through the season; a treatment programme of feed, weed and moss control rebuilds its health across several visits a year; turfing and landscaping firms remake tired lawns; and tree-led firms suit gardens where canopy work comes first [2]. Measure your lawn in square metres before you call and note moss, weeds, thatch and bare patches, since treatments are dosed by area and a measured quote beats a phone-only ballpark [2].
Telford's housing shapes the work. Older streets in Wellington run to walled front plots and compact lawns behind, and parts of the town sit inside a conservation area, which affects what else you can do to the plot [12]. Dawley and Madeley bring terraced lawns hemmed in by fences, where side access decides whether machinery or barrows do the carrying. Lawley Village and the newer estates bring developer-laid turf that often struggles in its first years, plus immature edging [13]. In the Gorge villages around Ironbridge, steep banked gardens and narrow lanes mean the firm's first question should be about access, not grass.
If the job involves weedkiller, ask for the spray certificate. Anyone applying pesticides in a commercial role is legally required to hold the NPTC safe-handling and application qualifications, typically PA1 with the PA6 handheld-equipment award, assessed by exam and practical test [4]. LANTRA runs the matching training courses for handheld applicators, including refreshers [5]. A treatment firm that cannot name its applicator's certificate is one to pass over, however glossy the programme brochure looks. Certificates carry the operative's name and expiry, so check both are current.
Ask what happens to the waste. Clippings, thatch and soil leave your garden on somebody's truck, and the carrier should appear on the Environment Agency public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers [6]. Firms carrying other people's waste sit in the upper tier, while sole traders carrying only their own cuttings sit in the lower tier [6]. Search the business name on the register yourself and ask for the registration number on the quote.
The council side is straightforward. Telford and Wrekin collects garden waste from the green bin all year round without a subscription charge, taking grass cuttings, hedge clippings, leaves and small branches, with extra loads accepted in clear biodegradable sacks beside the bin [11]. Soil, turf and rubble are not taken, and anything the bin cannot hold can go to either household recycling centre, open seven days a week [11]. That matters at quoting time: a scarification or turf-strip producing sacks of thatch and old turf should name the disposal route and its cost.
For tree work inside a lawn job, check who climbs. The Arboricultural Association is the leading UK body for tree care professionals [7], so named membership means something a bare certified-arborist claim does not. Ask which operative does the cutting, what scheme sits behind the title, and confirm the liability cover in writing, since overhanging limbs and fence-line trees are where garden jobs go wrong. This bites in Telford more than most towns: the borough holds eight conservation areas, including Wellington and the Severn Gorge, and tree work inside one needs six weeks' notice to the council so it can consider protecting the tree [12]. The Gorge carries a second layer, as a World Heritage Site with extra controls on minor changes [12]. If your lawn job touches a boundary tree in one of these streets, settle permission before the diary fills.
A typical job runs the same course whatever its size. First contact is usually a form, a message or a call, and the useful firms reply with questions about size, access and what you want the lawn to do, rather than a price on the spot. What follows is a look at the lawn in person or over photos, then a written quote to compare against one or two others. On the workday, clear the access route and agree where waste goes before blades touch grass. It ends with a walk-round while everyone is still there, and payment against the invoice rather than before it.
Get written quotes on the same scope and compare them line by line. Each quote should separate labour, materials and VAT, list the visits or treatments with dates, name the products for weed and feed work, state who removes waste, and set payment stages, since a deposit for materials is normal while full payment before completion is not [1] [8]. Telford usually sits below London and South East prices, so treat a quote far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain [1].
Close the job on paper. Keep the final invoice with the treatment record of products and dates, the turf aftercare sheet and any guarantee terms in the provider's own words, plus photos of the finished lawn [8]. The invoice should show the VAT position plainly, since many small rounds sit below the threshold while larger firms add it on top [1]. For turf, keep the aftercare sheet with its watering guidance; for treatments, the log of products and dates is what any follow-up visit turns on [8]. If the work proves faulty and the firm will not put it right, Citizens Advice publishes consumer guidance and template letters for faulty services [8].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: a regular mowing visit £20–£45; a one-off cut £20–£35 for a small garden, £35–£60 for a medium one and £60–£100 or more for a large one; fortnightly maintenance £25–£60 a visit; and a first cut of an overgrown lawn £50–£150 or more, since long grass is taken down in stages [1]. Frequency moves the dial: a fortnightly round costs less per visit than scattered one-offs, while slopes, narrow side access and lawns broken up by beds all add time [1].
Treatments are priced apart from mowing. Feeding, weed and moss control runs £30–£70 per application, usually two or three times a year; mechanical scarification sits near £100–£160 for a medium lawn with hollow-tine aeration near £80–£140; and a full autumn programme of aeration, scarification, overseeding and feed runs £240–£380 [1] [10]. Seasonal programmes typically span five or six visits at six-to-eight-week intervals [2]. Dose follows area, so a measured lawn in square metres gets a fairer programme price than a guess, and professional-grade products cost more per visit than garden-centre stock [2].
New lawns are quoted by area. Turf alone runs about £2–£7 or more per square metre by grade, with professional laying taking the all-in figure near £10–£30 per square metre; levelling beforehand adds roughly £20 per square metre [3]. Access for turf delivery, the state of the old surface and any drainage work underneath move the all-in figure more than the turf grade itself [3]. Size, condition, slopes and access move every price above, as do extras such as edging and taking clippings away [1].
Edging, overseeding between visits and green-waste removal are usually priced apart from the headline rate, so ask where each sits before comparing totals [1]. A quote that folds everything into one round figure with no breakdown tells you less than a longer one that shows its working [8].
Ask whether VAT is included, since many small rounds sit below the VAT threshold and add nothing, while larger firms add it on top [1]. Firms in this round publish almost no example rates, so treat any single fixed price for a season with no breakdown as a question. Get the visits, treatments, waste handling and guarantee terms in writing before work starts [8].
Red flags
Quotes a treatment programme or turfing job without seeing the lawn or asking for photos and measurements.
Sprays weedkiller for hire but cannot show an NPTC pesticide certificate you could verify [4].
Takes grass cuttings and thatch away with no waste carrier registration you can check on the public register [6].
Gives a single fixed price for a full season with no breakdown of visits, treatments and VAT.
Asks for full payment in cash before the first cut, with no written scope or terms.
Claims arborist credentials for tree work but names no scheme you can verify [7].
Will not put the visit schedule, products and price in writing before starting.
Cannot say when the next visit falls or what each visit covers once the round starts.
Prices turfing from a photo alone without asking about drainage, shade or how the lawn gets used.
Finishes the cut and leaves, with no walk-round and no note of what was done.