Crown lifting

This is the removal of the lower branches of the tree to allow either access to vehicles and pedestrians or to increase light levels to the surrounding area. Tree owners are required to ensure that any branches overhanging a footpath have a minimum clearance of 2.5m (8ft) and 5.2m (17ft) for the highway. We do not recommend that large diameter branches are removed from the tree as these wounds take many years to close and lead to decay becoming established in the main stem, which could jeopardise the long term future of the tree.