句子有问题,有两个谓语动词.其中之一要改成非谓语动词.比如改成现在分词的完成时：
there are many great changes having taken place in my hometown in the past ten years可不可以把having拿掉？ 即：there are many great changes taken place in my hometown in the past ten years. 这样呢？不可以仅仅把having 拿掉，因为这里是现在分词的完成时，表示“在过去十年中已经发生的变化”。仅仅把 having拿掉，就变成过去分词修饰changes，语态就错了。当然原句改成从句也是可以的。