Sometimes we can’t avoid this course of action, maybe your tree is causing damage to your property, too big for it’s surroundings, dead, dying diseased or dangerous, trees although long-lived do come to the end of their lives.
British Standards 3998 (2010) Recommendations for Tree work states; Where support and pruning are considered inadequate to reduce a risk to a reasonable level, the only option [might] be to fell the tree and establish a new tree on the same or a nearby site.