Maximum possible reduction of large Oak

[George01]

We have a stunning oak tree in our garden. The problem is, the oak tree is owned by the local authority and it is just not maintained. It is located about 8 metres from my house wall and hasn't been maintained since 2016 and I don't believe has been inspected since then either.

While it saddens me to do so I would like to submit a request to the local authority for the tree to be reduced as much possible as I know any other solution will be out of control again in a year or 2.

 

What would the maximum reduction be for this tree? Would pollarding be an option to reduce the height by ~50% and keep it tree like?

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by George01
Spelling and clarification

[AHPP]

A suggestion, as the primary beneficiary, if you are able, offer to fund the pruning, using the Council's preferred contractor

 That’s absolutely terrible advice. The tree officer’s cousin will do the work, do a shit job, charge fifteen times the going rate and then both of them will go round to the house of his sainted aunt and spit in her face.

[Chris at eden]

Crown reduction is light pruning by nature, it isn’t 40%. 40% is topping, bad practice really. You have virtually no chance of getting the council to do that. Or, allowing you to do that.  Unless the tree is dangerous, or causing structural damage.  This isn’t me being some kind of tree hugger, it is just the way it is. The owner doesn’t have to spend large amounts of money to prevent shade or leaf fall. 
 

Housing associations are not usually the council in my experience so if it is a HA, you may have more chance. If the council get wind of it though they may TPO it.  
 

I would be surprised if the tree isn’t inspected if it is owned by the council.  Best practice is proactive inspections so you wouldn’t really know if and when they are done. 
 

[MattyF]

Crown reduction is light pruning by nature, it isn’t 40%. 40% is topping, bad practice really. You have virtually no chance of getting the council to do that. Or, allowing you to do that.  Unless the tree is dangerous, or causing structural damage.  This isn’t me being some kind of tree hugger, it is just the way it is. The owner doesn’t have to spend large amounts of money to prevent shade or leaf fall. 
 
Housing associations are not usually the council in my experience so if it is a HA, you may have more chance. If the council get wind of it though they may TPO it.  
 
I would be surprised if the tree isn’t inspected if it is owned by the council.  Best practice is proactive inspections so you wouldn’t really know if and when they are done. 
 

I agree but Trees already been topped though.... and it’s recovered from it very vigorously too!
You could remove 35-40% of the trees leaf area and still leave a decent crown shape, drop out the larger stuff to it’s knuckles of where it’s been topped before and leave shape the smaller branches.. you could arguably have reason to do it as it had been butchered in the past and all the regrowth is not natural branch formations, attachments

[breffni]

46 minutes ago, Mike Hill said:

Should be more pointy at the top,helps the water run off it.

 

Plus it looks more like a tree.

Just spat my f'ing tea out 🤣🤣👍

[Paddy1000111]

Surely if you just reduce harder you're asking for a massive reactive/epicormic growth so it will be even worse in time to come. Better off with a light thin and go from there no? The size isn't an issue as it's all fluffy junk but the density is a problem

[muttley9050]

Should be more pointy at the top,helps the water run off it.
 
Plus it looks more like a tree.

It's a beautiful tree but you sir are a comic genius.
Any chance of the address so I can apply for a tpo before it's pointed?

[MattyF]

Surely if you just reduce harder you're asking for a massive reactive/epicormic growth so it will be even worse in time to come. Better off with a light thin and go from there no? The size isn't an issue as it's all fluffy junk but the density is a problem

Title of the thread ?
If you have thinned a tree you have limited its pruning targets for a future reduction.. another thing is the only trees you see in nature that are thinning are dying ones so it’s not like you are mimicking a retrenched crown.. Thinning in my view has very limited applications in Arb work and most of what you see when specked is done badly ....
Trees already been hat racked any way and survived and put on a lot of growth... the second lighter reduction has still hasn’t resulted in desirable regrowth my guess is if you thinned that particular tree it would sprout even more epicormic.

[Paddy1000111]

55 minutes ago, MattyF said:

Title of the thread ?
If you have thinned a tree you have limited its pruning targets for a future reduction.. another thing is the only trees you see in nature that are thinning are dying ones so it’s not like you are mimicking a retrenched crown.. Thinning in my view has very limited applications in Arb work and most of what you see when specked is done badly ....
Trees already been hat racked any way and survived and put on a lot of growth... the second lighter reduction has still hasn’t resulted in desirable regrowth my guess is if you thinned that particular tree it would sprout even more epicormic.

You're probably right. I was just looking at the current growth from the previous prune where each branch has been taken back and now 2-3 new sprouts have grown from each one where it's reacted to it. If you did it again then you would get the same issue all over again after a couple of years. 

It's hard to tell but it doesn't look like the previous prune was done back to a 1/3 size growth point and more just lopped off at a certian distance leaving a load of stubs. (As you said hat racked)

When I say I thin I really mean remove dead, damaged, diseased and then move out to the previous prune points and remove 1 or 2 of the current reactive growth from the last prune to give a thinner outer crown. 

 

A gentle thin I've always thought is quite natural, trees drop weak branches in the wind all the time and you're just imitating a heavy storm and removing some branches to create a good airflow and put more light through to the inner branches and encourage the tree to create some more growth points inside the crown to make future prunes easier

Edited February 25, 2021 by Paddy1000111