ploppygb wrote

Sorry it's taken a while, but here's a photo of said conifer. I have
tied up the splayed branches with some twine I happened to have. Before
that, about 4ft above ground on the right, some branches were splayed
out about 90 degrees.

Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attach...chmentid=15544

By binding that type of conifer like a mummy light will be prevented
from entering the interior and air circulation will also be limited...
you are killing that tree... leave it to its own devices and it will
correct itself at its own pace. The splayed branches will send out
new shoots to fill the gaps, in a short time you'll have a wider
fuller healthier tree... if it's not broken don't fix it.