Help me identify this tree

[Littlefrog99]

I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to gardening so I'd really appreciate some help with identifying a tree. I've tried google. The leaves look very similar to a sweet chestnut but it doesn't grow chestnuts so I'm really not sure.

The reason I ask is we moved into this house 2 years ago, this tree is huge and had an abundance of leaves which was a bit of a pain when it came to autumn. Not just to our garden but the neighbour's too due to the sheer amount of leaves dropping everywhere. We're considering having it thoroughly tidied up but this year it's quite bare and I'm not sure if there's something wrong with it or the leaves grow in later than I thought it did last year. Any help will be welcome.

I’m thinking all that soil and stuff around the base of the trunk is the problem.

“Tree roots breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. They obtain the oxygen they need from the tiny air spaces in the soil. Because of this need, 85 percent or more of a tree's roots are located in the upper 12 inches of soil where oxygen levels are highest.

Many people are not aware of how shallow tree root systems are, and assume they must grow deep into the soil. With that attitude, they think applying fill over the roots should not make that much difference. Knowing that the roots are shallow due to their need for oxygen makes it easy to see why fill can kill trees”

It's almost looks like a mature native cherry. Did it have any spring blossom?
Bare branches at that age, and some surface roots would fit with a cherry.

Looks a bit cherry-ish to me too.

Looks like a cherry. Was there any sign of blossom in spring?

The blossom yes! It did have blossom last year but nothing this year. The stuff around the trunk has been there for a maximum of 2 weeks so I'm thinking it probably isn't the cause of the lack of foliage. I do think I know what has done it though, it's so obvious now.

DP is building our DC a play area which will run along the side of the garden and under the tree. This area was overgrown with ivy that was rooted in both our garden and the neighbour's. DP and the NDN have both put down something to kill the ivy off before we get the fence replaced. This was in early April and it wouldn't surprise me if there's been more applications since. There's some more excavation work to be done near the tree so that's not going to help. DP was adamant that he wasn't going deep enough to damage the roots but I'm thinking he's wrong and this big, old tree is far more fragile than we assumed.

Native cherry are extremely beneficial to wildlife, and this one looks at least 50-60 years old. Maybe get some advice from a qualified arboriculturist as to how to help it post pesticide and to maintain it if possible.
The leaves that fall are a beautiful colour, and kids are great at collecting them and jumping in the pile!

I was wondering how long it had been there. The house was built in 60's so perhaps since then. We get lots of wildlife in our garden and we're keen to encourage it so I think I will get someone to have a look. I've checked the other trees and a few smaller branches on the 40yo magnolia seem to be dying too. I could kick myself.

Trees usually send down a tap root or roots to anchor them into the ground so they don't blow over. As well as those, they have thousands of smaller roots all radiating outwards. They are the ones that can get damaged by work close to the tree as their spread is usually at least as wide as the canopy of leaves and often much further.

It looks like a member of the cherry family to me too.

If that is a native tree and you decide to do work on it, then you would need to check with the council to make sure it doesn't have a Tree Preservation Order on it. If you are on a fairly new estate, then the developers have left it undisturbed for a reason.

The leaves look exactly like my ornamental cherry.

I wonder if it needs a good prune if it is very old and then maybe it would produce some new branches with more leaves on?

Thank you, some important points for us to consider. It's definitely not under a preservation order, we checked that out when we bought the house. The tree does need cutting back though, its absolutely massive and blocks out sunlight to half of our garden as well the 2 houses behind us. My apple tree is doing brilliantly though, it's getting a lot more sunlight than it usually would!

We've moved the garden waste from around the tree and have a professional coming to have a look at it so hopefully we can rectify the issue before it gets any worse.