"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Victoria Clare contains these words:

"Michael Williams" wrote in
:

The canopy spread is nowhere near the house but what will the
situation be like in 10 years time?


If it's not affecting the house at the moment, and you will see any
problems in the wall and pavement first, what about getting a tree
surgeon
to reduce the crown, or even pollard the tree (cut the branches and
trunk
back to about 14 feet so you end up with a sort of lollipop shape of
smaller branches).

Pollarding increases the lifespan of a tree, keeps it relatively small
in
size, and is a very old method of tree management -

Pollarding doesn't reduce the vigour and spread of the root system, or
the potential risk from it..which is what he's concerned about.


In fact, pollarding or lopping is generally accepted as increasing the
vigour of the tree.

If the OP is genuinely worried that the tree may eventually damage the
house, or give rise to problems in selling the house (e.g. if the lending
institutions might be alarmed by the tree), removing the tree sooner rather
than later would seem to be indicated.