As the title states, in my roof I have what I believe to be called longitudinal bracing. It spans the whole length of the roof from end gable to party wall and is attached to the ceiling joists with nails. These are at the bottom of the trussed roof W but not attached to the trusses them self. It then has long metal brackets attached at each end. I’m wanting to fit a timber loft hatch and stairs which is perfect width but length wise I am being stopped due to this piece of timber in the way. My question is, is it ok to cut the section that crosses the hatch while leaving the rest nailed to the joists? I don’t want to be cutting anything if it is structural, altho I don’t see how it is really structural, but then I’m not a roofing expert, I’m just a very confident diyer when it comes to wood etc. I’ve attached pictures to describe what I’m seeing.