Dbarnard

Thanks petif for your quick reply. Getting rid of it because I find the tree is too close to the boarder and dont like how it sags the fence. It also overhangs the car pack too much it looks amazing in summer but I've had it two winters now and the leaf fall and berries is too much to handle so want to simplify things. I plan on planting a Himalayan birch tree in its place but further from the boarder. They are more maintainable from what I have read and stay around 6m high which sounds ideal. Believe it maybe a snow queen birch actually

Hi I was looking to remove a 30 year old hawthorn from the back of my garden. The tree is around 10m high and 6m wide. I've attached pictures. The tree is next to a tarmac foot path and around 1m from that is a hedge with stone risers and 1m from that is a blocked paved carpark. There is a property 5m to the left of it. Ive been reading online about ground heave and it has me very worried. From the facts I've gathered. The property was built in 1979. So the tree was planted after the property was built. I'm trying to work out if the soil is clay because I've heard that can be bad as it can swell when the tree I removed. Do you know how I can test this? Dug a whole by the tree this morning. Its black and slightly sticky. Worried about it because i know for certain that around 5m from the tree back towards my house theres a patch of clay. I'm trying to gauge what steps I need to do to remove the tree. I have read online a gradual reduction of 1/3 a year can work? And when the tree is eventually a stump it can be grinded out. I've read that this means the soil can recover per year. Behind the tree it's pure tarmac I.e theres no soil. But I'm paranoid what's beneath the tarmac. One picture I've attached is where the tarmac on the boarder has slightly raised. It isn't huge but it has me worried the roots have propagated out further. If and when the stump is removed I guess I need to contact the council to repair the tarmac. Just looking for advice really. I've contacted an alborist to see what they have to say but just trying to gather information. Edit: had another look at the soil I think it is loam/clay you can feel grit in some bits but you get the odd bit that is silky smooth. I've had a look on a soil map of the uk and that matches with that. The soil map says theres a slight impedance to drainage. Hoping this is only really an issue for pure clay soil?