Plot and land clearance
Clearing late is worse than not clearing at all
With the cuttings taken away, not cut and left lying on the ground. Written quote, with the area measured.
- Removal is included, not an extra that turns up later
- The boundary strip, which is the part that really counts
- First thing in the morning, checking the conditions on the day
Tell us where the plot is
With the cadastral reference and a couple of photos we can measure it and give you a price.
What’s included
Cutting is only the first of four
A clearance that stops at the first one looks cheaper on paper and solves nothing. What really leaves the plot clear is what comes after the cut.
Clearing the plot
Long grass, scrub and whatever woody growth has taken hold. The machine we use depends on what has grown and on the slope, and it isn’t always the same across the whole plot.
Taking away what’s cut
It’s half the job, and the half that usually gets dropped from the quote to make it cheaper. Cutting it and leaving it lying there doesn’t leave the plot clear: it leaves it full of dry fuel.
The boundary and the access
The strip along the boundary, the track and the buildings is the one that really matters, and it’s where the work is hardest. What has to be kept clear is set by your town hall.
Coming back before it regrows
A plot cleared in March doesn’t stay clear until September. A touch-up at the right time costs a fraction of starting again the following year.
What you need to understand
The machine that clears is also the one that starts fires
It’s awkward to say it on the page where we sell the service, but it’s true: a brush cutter working dry scrub at midday, in the wind, is one of the ways summer fires start. The line or the blade hits a stone, a spark flies and lands on the driest grass of the year.
And here that matters more than elsewhere, because of where the plots are. In this part of the coast there’s no clean border between town and scrubland: the urbanisations climb the hillsides, and the empty plots sit against houses on one side and vegetation on the other. Whatever burns on one plot doesn’t stay on one plot.
The practical consequence is the date. The same job, done in spring, is a different job: the vegetation still holds moisture, it cuts better, the risk is very low and there’s still time for a touch-up. Done in July, it’s working in the worst conditions, in a rush and with the notice hanging over you.
And then there’s what’s left on the ground. Standing scrub is alive and has water in it. The same scrub, cut and left lying, dries out in a few days and becomes the best kindling there is. A “cleared” plot with everything that was cut lying on top is worse off than before anyone touched it. That’s why removal isn’t an extra on the quote: it’s the reason for the quote.
About the price
The square metres are the least of it
This is the service where the price per square metre is most misleading. Two plots the same size can cost very different amounts, and it’s hardly ever down to the metres.
- What has grown. Long grass goes quickly. Woody scrub that has built up over several years means a different machine, a different pace and sometimes work by hand.
- The slope. On flat ground a big machine can go in. On a hillside the work is slower, more careful, and sometimes done only with a hand-held brush cutter.
- How much comes out. The volume of cuttings decides the number of trips and the disposal, and that usually weighs more than the cutting itself.
- What’s hidden in there. On abandoned plots you find rubble, plastic and sometimes bulky rubbish. That isn’t green waste, it doesn’t go to the same place, and it needs to be seen before we give a price.
With the cadastral reference we measure the area, and with a couple of photos we see the rest. The price goes in writing, stating whether removal is included or not. Why the unit of measurement matters so much is explained in gardening prices.
Where we work
Every town hall has its own rules
The obligations and the deadlines are set by your municipality, not by us. Each page explains how we work in that town.
Worth reading
We’d rather explain it than keep it secret
Your community’s gardening contract: what to check before you sign
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The first reaction at the AGM is always the same: cut that root. It’s the one that causes most trouble, and it comes from believing roots grow straight down.
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The water that doesn’t go in through the grate doesn’t wait: it runs down until it finds the next low point, and on a terraced urbanisation that point usually has a door.
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Common questions
What people ask us most
Am I obliged to clear my plot?
Almost certainly, yes, but who requires it and by when depends on your municipality, and not every town in the province of Málaga does it the same way. We’re not going to give you a date here, or a by-law article we haven’t checked for your case: what we will tell you is to ask at your town hall, and that if a case has already been opened on your plot, the deadlines that count are the ones in that case, not the general ones.
Is it enough to strim it and leave it there?
For the plot to look clear, yes. For what clearing is supposed to achieve, no: cut grass drying on the ground catches fire sooner and burns faster than the same grass left standing. If the reason you’re clearing is the fire risk, leaving the cuttings is doing half the job and keeping the worse half.
The plot is inherited and I don’t live here. Can you go without me?
Yes, that’s the usual case with this service. We need to know where the exact boundaries are (a cadastral reference is enough to start with) and to have access sorted out. When we finish we send before-and-after photos, which also help if you have to prove to anyone that it was done. You can call or WhatsApp us in English.
When is the best time?
As early in the year as you can, and certainly before the heat. In spring the vegetation still holds moisture, it cuts better, there’s less risk in the work and there’s time for a touch-up if it regrows. Leaving it until July means working in the worst conditions: dry scrub, heat and a rush. If you call us in July we’ll come, but first thing in the morning and keeping an eye on the conditions, not at any hour. And if the plot is forest land, the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) rules for the high-risk season also restrict brush cutters to the early hours of the morning.
If you’re reading this in June, there’s still time
Send us the cadastral reference and a couple of photos. We’ll tell you what needs to come out, how much waste there’ll be and what it costs, with removal included.