Are the neighbours spending their days behind those windows? Always puzzles me how the same thought about "privacy" doesn't occur the other way round. If a conifer grows that fast to cover such a height, it's probably the wrong conifer. How about a sail that you can put on in the summer and have the little precious sun in the winter unimpeded? Or maybe some trellis with a nice clematis?
I must admit its not that the neighbours are staring out of their windows at us, it's as much that as it feels overlooked and I would quite like to make the garden more of a sanctuary where I can pretend I'm not in a city crammed into a terrace street!
I think that the pleached trees will need a lot of maintenance up a ladder to keep them looking like that, also they probably need a bigger space and @Obelixx has made some good suggestions. A tree doesn't have to be a monster, there are plenty that don't grow too big.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thanks for the detailed response! I must admit we dont have bags of time with a young toddler and are very much learning gardening as we go along so some wise words there.
You don't need a great tall tree because of the rules of perspective. If you sit in your garden and then look up to those top windows you will see that you don't need a giant to give you some privacy form being over-looked. Bear in mind also that those windows are probably bedrooms and not much used or visited in the daytime.
I would think, instead, of planting a well shaped, deciduous tree which, if chosen well, will give you lovely spring blossom and fresh foliage colour followed by a good canopy in summer when you are most likely to be outside in your garden and then attractive autumn leaf colour and maybe berries. The bare bones of the tree after leaf fall will provide an attractive view without cutting all the light to your garden or your neighbours.
The pleached tree idea is a lovely way to get height and colour and form but can be expensive and requires good maintenance for which you may not have the time, budget or skills while you have young children about.
Have a look at amelanchier, sorbus, prunus (ornamental cherries rather than plums), acer griseum (gorgeous bark) and so on. Have a look at these links for other ideas and things to consider.
A big thank you to everyone for their wisdom and generous advice. I shall now approach my wife with the options and we can take it from there! I will try and upload a picture when we have something in place. David.
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David.