Trust it is ok to ask for advice?

The cypress trees are going to be an ongoing cost, the bigger they get the bigger the cost, I would remove and replant something else, that said they can make a good wind/noise brake but will require regular topping every few years.

the connie hedge has been cut to hard in the past, the brown patches won’t grow back, in my mind there are 3 options:

1:put up with it

2: remove

3: plant something interesting to cover the gaps 

Hedge could be aphid damage.

I would not touch the lawsons , if you top them you will have a worse problem in a few years as they will grow back more vigorously, weaker and you will enter a circle of having to spend money on them around every 5 years to keep them , if light is an issue I would get them felled… any reasonable tree officer won’t object to that but usually you will have to replant. 

I would guess that your TPO is an area one, not one specific to your address; I can't see another way of such scrappy trees attracting protection.  If I'm wrong read no further but if I'm right... if the Lawsons were planted after the TPO was placed they aren't covered by it; they don't look to be that old

On 23/04/2023 at 20:05, Will C said:

The cypress trees are going to be an ongoing cost, the bigger they get the bigger the cost, I would remove and replant something else, that said they can make a good wind/noise brake but will require regular topping every few years.

 

the connie hedge has been cut to hard in the past, the brown patches won’t grow back, in my mind there are 3 options:

1:put up with it

2: remove

3: plant something interesting to cover the gaps 

The conifer hedge will close more, from side growth,  but not completely i think,  and it will take some time

On 24/04/2023 at 09:26, nepia said:

I would guess that your TPO is an area one, not one specific to your address; I can't see another way of such scrappy trees attracting protection.  If I'm wrong read no further but if I'm right... if the Lawsons were planted after the TPO was placed they aren't covered by it; they don't look to be that old

I can't see why there would be a tpo on such trees. 

On 23/04/2023 at 20:13, MattyF said:

Hedge could be aphid damage.

I would not touch the lawsons , if you top them you will have a worse problem in a few years as they will grow back more vigorously, weaker and you will enter a circle of having to spend money on them around every 5 years to keep them , if light is an issue I would get them felled… any reasonable tree officer won’t object to that but usually you will have to replant. 

They look like lawsons cypress. I think they could be reduced by a few meters and you won't have to touch them for 10 yrs. If they were leyland cypress , that would be different 

The conifer hedge issue can have a few different causes-overspray from oil tank filling in windy conditions/slightly overdeep cutting/ harsh or salty winds.The most likely issue is dryness at the rootzo es+adelgid/aphid attacks.If it spreads along the hedge-your'e buggered.If it stays static sympathetic trimming around the area when routinely trimming the whole hedge (late Sept) will encourage eventual closure-and shoots coming thru the dead zones are precious.But it can recur/spread/pop up in other areas too.