Josh Higgins Countryside Services business owner, Josh grew up within a farming community in North Shropshire. In 2012 Josh successfully completed a National Diploma in Countryside Management.

After attaining this qualification he gained a post as a Trainee Ranger within Northumberland National Park. This position offered him lots of chainsaw experience around Kielder Forest and the Cheviot Hills. Following on from this Josh moved to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to work as a Park Warden.

At the end of this contract in 2014 he moved home and set up Josh Higgins Countryside Services. He then continued to develop his knowledge working as a subcontractor for a number of tree surgery companies whilst also completing a large variety of theoretical and practical training courses.

​Today, Josh runs a specialist tree surgery and forestry business working for both domestic and commercial clients offering a variety of services in North Shropshire and neighbouring counties including;  Hedge trimming, tree pruning, 24 hour emergency call out, dangerous tree removal, log splitting, saw milling, site clearance, kiln dried firewood and woodland management.

A fleet of specialist, modern equipment ensures that the team are able to complete jobs quickly and efficiently. Some examples of machinery include:

• 3 different winches; 6.5 tonne tractor mounted, 4 tonne 4x4 truck mounted and a 5 tonne hydraulic.

• Forst ST6 road tow woodchipper.

• Road towable 22 tonne petrol log splitter.

• Cast compact pivot steer loader weighing just 2.1 tonne and capable of lifting over 1 tonne to 3.3 metres with a variety of attachments: log grab, rotating log grab, hydraulic winch, bucket, pallet tines, snow plough, hydraulic log splitter.

• Woodmizer professional sawmill with electric drive, head positioning, de barker and setworks for millimetre precision saw milling of timber up to 90cm wide and 6metres long.

• A large variety of professional chainsaws, trimmers, blowers, pole saws, strimmers, mowers, ladders and hand tools.

• 4x4 site vehicle equipped with mud tyres, winch and tools required for woodland and site clearance work.

• 3.5 tonne van with enclosed tipping body and all tools required for tree surgery/pruning operations.

• FSI B22 hydraulically driven narrow access stump grinder, just 680mm wide, for complete removal of tree stumps.

​Many trees are legally protected. A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) is an order made by a local planning authority to protect specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands in the interests of amenity value. Trees can also be legally protected if they are located within a conservation area. We have access to council maps and can find out if a tree in your ownership is protected. The planning application is similar for both types of legal protection, we can complete all relevant applications and documentation to gain permission to work on protected trees on your behalf as an agent.

​Josh and his team are all highly competent and fully qualified to carry out the day to day tree surgery based operations, regularly completing refreshers and new training courses to keep up with their own personal development and current health and safety regulations. Professional qualifications include:

• IPAF qualified - The safe use of powered access equipment.

• NPTC qualified in a variety of areas; - Basic chainsaw maintenance and cross cutting, felling and processing small trees, aerial rescue, safe use of a chainsaw from a rope and harness, safe use of rigging and lowering equipment, safe use of a brushcutter, safe use of a tractor and related implements, health and safety and risk management in winching operations, safe use of a manually fed woodchipper, safe use of a pedestrian stump grinder, safe use of a tele handler and rough terrain forklift.

• B+E Licence - Able to tow a trailer up to 3500kg

• Lantra Awards - Safe use of pedestrian mowers - flail and rotary, safe use of an ATV.

• Emergency first aid at work including trauma care.

​We pride ourselves on our professionalism and quality of work, all of our work is carried out to a British standard, BS3998:2010. We are fully insured to carry out all of our tree surgery operations and hold a public liability insurance of £5 million and an employers liability insurance of £10 million.

If you'd like further information, please contact us.