Tree number 1: The purple plum is at the end of its life, as shown by the fact you can see lots of branches because the leaves are getting sparce. If I only prune it now, I will be applying in a couple of years to take it down as branches will be falling onto the driveway and be a danger. I am not proposing to replant a tree here at there is excessive shading and there are already three other trees in an otherwise quite small garden. Tree number 2: The variegated maple, again shown by the sparse leaves in the picture, needs a prune. Despite its fairly sickly look, I would prefer not to take it out, as it is still a young tree for a maple, and see if I can encourage growth, the first reason for a prune. Secondly, as it is a tree that grows to nearly 50ft, it has been planted in completely the wrong location and therefore, its growth needs to be controlled to a certain extent or again, we will have branches falling on the driveways underneath. The proposed initial prune is 30% of growth. I would then request that I have ongoing permission to prune 10% of growth every second to third year to manage the tree properly. Tree number 3: The ? lime is very clearly dying. It looked no better throughout the whole summer and needs to come out. I propose to plant a laburnum and a red hawthorn, two much smaller trees which will provide colour in the spring. The three above trees would have been planted when all the houses in Halls Close were built towards the end of the '80s. I have taken the advice of Acorns of Abingdon for all these trees and this was the suggestion they made.

4 Halls Close, Drayton, Abingdon, OX14 4LU