I've now had 2 arborists come out and offer advice.
The canopy is all generated from upper branches and there is no growth from mid height.
The upper branches are all hanging low, which means that there is little scope of reducing height without losing the canopy.
Pollarding to reduce height will result in a bare tree and previous cuts over recent years have not generated any new shoots because the tree is not a native plant and our summers are not sunny enough to encourage new growth.
If left alone, the tree will just continue to grow upwards with a high canopy.
Its a lovely looking tree but is now getting too big for the garden.
Another option is its total removal and replant something more manageable.
I'm in a quandary
The canopy is all generated from upper branches and there is no growth from mid height.
The upper branches are all hanging low, which means that there is little scope of reducing height without losing the canopy.
Pollarding to reduce height will result in a bare tree and previous cuts over recent years have not generated any new shoots because the tree is not a native plant and our summers are not sunny enough to encourage new growth.
If left alone, the tree will just continue to grow upwards with a high canopy.
Its a lovely looking tree but is now getting too big for the garden.
Another option is its total removal and replant something more manageable.
I'm in a quandary