My neighbour has a huge oak tree literally on my boundary fence. It's so massive that it takes all light from the middle section of my garden. The trees on my side (an apple and rowan tree) are bending, trying to look for light. My neighbour has let us cut the branches overhanging our property before. I have asked if we can take it down but she says she wants to keep it for 'shade' on her side. As a compromise, we agreed we could take the height down to the levels of the trees next to it, and leave the branches on her side as they are. I've consulted a tree surgeon who says he can make a good job of trying to make a compromise (without, in his words, "it looking like a helicopter has crashed into it"). My neighbour is now starting to get difficult and saying she "doesn't want a lot taking off" and that she doesn't want it "lop sided". When we had the overhanging branches taken off a couple of years back (with her blessing), she never said a word. Now she's saying he "cut off half the tree and didn't shape it". But, it didn't change the aspect on her side at all, just stopped the branches completely overshadowing our side. It it right that we have absolutely no right to take some of this tree down when it takes our light so badly? I'd never want to make it look ugly or odd, or to upset my neighbour. But frankly, I can't see how we can find a compromise if she won't allow us to cut the branches that overhang our property. It feels grossly unfair. This tree is about 30 feet high...