http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk is a site you might consult, Alan. We have now, regretfully, taken down the tree at the bottom of the garden. When we did, the neighbour said, 'What a shame! It was a beautiful tree!' As Jo4eyes says, the improvement in the amount of light is striking, but we are again looking at the houses backing on to ours. We have a young buddleia (which I grew from a seed) growing a few feet from the boundary and, in time, this will do quite a lot to break the eyeline and give more privacy. In general, I don't think we have given our neighbours any cause for complaint. Some people seem to like their gardens free of anything much except paving and grass and don't like to see plants over the wall, either. Inexplicable! Thank you all for your responses - it was interesting to read them all.
