The message vjhl9.751$Op4.96001@newsfep2-gui
from "Top Cat" contains these words:

I've got a very large Silver Birch tree just outside my boundary. It's on a
council owned verge, overhangs my property, and the sap makes a hell of the
mess of my car when parked on the driveway, it's a bloody nuisance!. Do you
think as if I asked the council they would be obliged to remove it and plant
something else more appropiate?

Are you sure what's dripping on your car? Birch trees can leak sap
from wounds; but ime it doesn't rain down; the sap almost always runs
down branches then down the trunk,and only for a short time until the
wounded part either callouses over, or dies. If something sticky is
dripping onto a large area under the tree, it probably isn't sap, but
honeydew from aphids feeding on the leaves. In that case it would only
be a seasonal summer thing, so the council might successfully claim that
it isn't responsible for normal insect activity, and you, not they, are
responsible for protecting your car paintwork from it.If it is sap from
a tree wound, then you might have more luck persuading the council to
act, on the grounds that damaged branches are a potential safety
hazard.Why not ask your car or household insurer if your policy includes
free legal advice?

ISTR from previous threads, the legislation which entitles people to
prune their neighbours' overhanging branches applies only to common
boundaries between domestic gardens; not to public areas. Also, the
tree may be subject to a tree protection order, so don't risk a large
fine by doing anything to it off your own bat.

Janet.