ninemill

Thanks for all the help with this, to answer some questions... I'm in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. I've had two quotes from certified tree surgeons, £240 & £175. In general, this part of the country is amongst the cheapest for labour rates. I've asked my neighbours either side and a couple of houses opposite and they're all happy to have it removed. As for the rest of the street, I think I may be in for a bit of dissent — that's where the recommendations of qualified people are nice to have! I'll get googling your suggestions, trees aren't my strong suit!

Thanks for outlining the alternatives to me Tommer, although I think that on balance it seems like removal will be the best option. Heave sounds unlikely from what contributors have said, and if in the long term the tree will have to be removed anyway then I'd rather take it out now and clear the frontage up in one fell swoop (no pun intended!) Can anyone recommend a species to plant in it's place? I'd like something more suitable for the location, that won't grow too large or require too much care. If it can offset some of the moisture that the Beech was absorbing to help the soil then all the better. Thanks again.

Yeah we do, it blocks off the whole of the front of the house and will be a maintenance cost going forward to keep it pollarded. We just don't want to inadvertently damage the house by acting too hastily. We've got a beautiful Magnolia tree in the back garden which we'd much rather dedicate our resources to!

Oh, and there's this too...

Thanks for the replies guys, very much appreciated. I've got a few pictures here of the tree, I'll take another couple focussing on the state of the surrounding ground tonight. The tree has put a crack down the garden wall already.

I'm pretty sure the house pre-dates the tree, I know little about them but people who've seen it seem to think it does. The house is a 1930s semi. According to the LandIS soilscapes viewer (no idea how accurate this is) says "Slowly permeable seasonally wet acid loamy and clayey soils".

Hello everyone, Please feel free to ignore/delete this post if not appropriate to the forum. I've just bought a house with a Copper Beech tree in the front garden. It's blocking out a LOT of light and obscuring the front of the house, as well as interfering with the telephone lines. We've had a couple of tree surgeons out to have a look and both have suggested removal of the tree. "It's the wrong type of tree in the wrong location". The tree is about 25' tall, with a trunk diameter of about 45cm. The trunk is just over 3m from the bay window at the front of the house and the branches are brushing on the windows so I would say they have a radius of about 4m. I'm having difficulty finding out the likely spread of the roots of a tree of this type, and the possible repercussions of removing it. Also, is there anything I can plant in it's place (a smaller, more manageable tree?) to help compensate for it's water uptake? Any insight from experts would be gratefully received.