The Cotswolds covers more than 2,000 square kilometres of hills, villages and stone-built towns, and Tonnes Away Ltd works across it from our base in Chipping Norton, a Cotswold market town itself. We supply Cotswold skips, grab lorries and tonne bags for clearing waste, along with the aggregates, crushed concrete and top soil that most building and garden jobs need.
Working in a protected stone landscape brings its own practical questions: narrow lanes, low walls, old buildings and gardens on slopes. Below is how we approach them, so you can pick the right service for your property.
We offer a 1 cubic yard bag and skips of 4, 6, 8 and 12 yards. As a guide, a 4 yard skip takes about 30 to 40 bin bags, a 6 yard about 50 to 60, an 8 yard about 70 to 80 and a 12 yard about 100 to 120. We deliver and collect at times that suit you, for short or long hire periods.
Work on a stone cottage or an old barn tends to produce heavy waste: stone, old lime mortar, plaster and roof timbers. Stone and rubble weigh a lot for the space they take, so a smaller skip filled with them can be heavier than a larger one full of household rubbish. For a cottage refit it can make sense to use a 6 or 8 yard skip for the strip out and a smaller one later for the finishing work. A larger barn project may need more than one skip over the course of the build.
Tell us what the job involves when you call and we will help you choose a size and plan any swaps.
Many Cotswold villages grew up long before cars, so lanes are narrow, verges are soft and houses sit close to the road behind low stone walls. A skip on a village street can get in the way, and some driveways are too tight or too steep for one.
Two other options often work better. A tonne bag takes up a fraction of the space and can sit in a front garden or a yard. A grab lorry pulls up, reaches over the wall with its arm and lifts soil or rubble straight from the garden, then leaves with the load, so nothing stays in the lane.
When you book, it helps to tell us a few things about the property:
With that in mind we can suggest the service that suits the site, rather than turning up with something that will not fit.
New driveways, garden paths, patios and the bases under sheds and garages all need a firm layer below the surface. Recycled crushed concrete is a good choice for that sub-base. It packs down hard, and it puts old concrete back to use instead of sending it to landfill.
We also supply gravel, sand and crushed stone, loose or in bulk, for the layers above. Gravel drives are a familiar sight in the Cotswolds and sit well with stone houses, and we can deliver the base and the top layer for the same job. See our aggregates page for more on what we supply.
Ground across much of the Cotswolds is thin and stony, with limestone not far below the surface, so digging footings, a pond or a level patio often turns up more stone and spoil than expected. Our muck away service clears it by grab lorry or tipper truck, and the waste is sorted and processed at licensed facilities, with as much recycled as possible.
On farms and larger plots there is often room to stockpile the spoil in one place, which makes collection quick. On tighter village sites, let us know where the pile will be and how the lorry can reach it.
Gardens over limestone often need fresh soil for new beds, raised borders and lawns. We supply top soil for garden and landscaping work, delivered to your property.
Having it dropped off in tonne bags keeps things tidy. A bag can wait on the drive or by the garden gate until you are ready to spread it, and you can see at a glance how much is left. Once the planting is done, the same kind of bag is useful for collecting garden waste and old turf.
The Cotswolds was named an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966 and became the Cotswolds National Landscape in 2020. It is the largest area of its kind in England and Wales and lies mainly in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Its character comes from limestone that weathers to honey and golden shades, old stone buildings and around 4,000 miles of stone walls. Questions about planning rules for your property are for your local council. We can help with the practical side of getting waste out and materials in.
Often, yes. Waste from our skips and grab lorries is sorted and processed at licensed facilities, and we recycle as much as possible. Clean rubble and broken concrete are among the easier materials to recycle, and keeping them apart from general rubbish helps. If you want to keep good walling stone to reuse, set it aside before the skip arrives.
We work across Chipping Norton, Witney, the Cotswolds and surrounding areas. The Cotswolds is a big area, so give us a call on 01993 220415 with your address and the job, and we will let you know.
Whether you need a skip for a cottage refit, a grab lorry for a garden dig or a load of crushed concrete for a new drive, call Tonnes Away Ltd on 01993 220415 or get in touch to talk it through. A short description of the job and the access is usually all we need to point you to the right option.