On Apr 3, 6:19 pm, Rhiannon Macfie Miller
wrote:
I'd still ideally like to get it taken out altogether (and replaced with
a low fence or a pretty hedge), but I don't want to pay the tree
surgeons twice (once to cut and once to take out). I might therefore
wait until the neighbours move in and talk it over with them, and see if
they're amenable to a change in boundary.

You don't need to pay tree surgeons to take out six foot high
lleylandii. It's a quite easy DIY job. Trimming a 20 foot hedge back
to six foot is a rather different exercise, and while I might try it,
I can see the arguments in favour of paying a tree surgeon.

I would get it trimmed to 6' now (not 6-7, you want room for it to
grow up a bit, and 6' is /much/ easier to trim with a hedge trimmer
and step ladder).

To remove the 6' stumps,
1. Use a bow saw to cut off side branches.
2. Dig around the base, use a hand axe to cut roots, and use the
trunk as a lever to expose the next root to cut.
Do NOT cut the trunk down near ground level - you'll never get the
stump out.