You can change the springs without removing the axle bolt. I did both of mine without removing them. Compress the spring on the car with spring clamps, this will in theory, shorten the shocker. In my case i used a length of 2x2 and placed one end under the anti roll bar link bracket on the strut and the other end on a trolley jack. I jacked up the strut and pulled it free of the hub. Best to have someone on hand, not easy on your own. If you need a few more mm to get it to clear, get your helper to press down on the disc with their foot.
If you try and jack the strut up without the spring clamps on, you will have too much tension from the spring as you jack it up and could cause injury if it slips. It's vital to clamp the spring down as far as possible before trying the above method.
Hope this helps