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Letter: Was the Public Properly Notified of Plans to Remove Hedgerows?
Published on: 7 Jun, 2019
Updated on: 7 Jun, 2019
A view of the same area after the hedge was removed.
From Martin Elliott
In response to: Social Media Outcry As Hedges Removed In Keens Lane Development
Surely the big issue, if there is one, whether this was all laid out by the developers, the officers of GBC planning department, advertising of this development at the site and in public media, and at the relevant council Planning Committee meeting.
The media gives the impression that these objections have now come “out of the blue”.
As for more than 300 comments asking how to stop the removal of the hedge, the comments were far more varied, starting with basic where and whats? Leading through to the point its not an ancient hedgerow, just a non-maintained field boundary.
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Responses to Letter: Was the Public Properly Notified of Plans to Remove Hedgerows?
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Nick Bomford
June 8, 2019 at 11:07 pm
Reading http://www.gov.uk might clarify a few things. According to the government website…
A countryside hedgerow is protected if it meets the following criteria:
Length –
A hedgerow is a boundary line of bushes which can include trees and is protected if it’s:
-more than 20m long with gaps of 20m or less in its length
-less than 20m long, but meets another hedge at each end
any stretch within the above
Position –
A hedgerow is protected if it’s on or next to:
-land used for agriculture or forestry
-land used for breeding or keeping horses, ponies or donkeys
-common land
-a village green
-a site of special scientific interest
-a protected European site such as a special area of conservation or special protection area
-a national nature reserve
-a local nature reserve
-Crown land
Protection does not apply to hedgerows in or marking the boundary of private gardens.
Age and other factors-
A hedgerow is important (and is protected) if it’s at least 30 years old and meets at least one of these criteria:
-marks all or part of a parish boundary that existed before 1850
-contains an archaeological feature such as a scheduled monument
-is completely or partly in or next to an archaeological site listed on a Historic Environment Record (HER), (formerly a Sites and Monuments Record)
-marks the boundary of an estate or manor or looks to be related to any building or other feature that’s part of the estate or manor that existed before 1600
-is part of a field system or looks to be related to any building or other feature associated with the field system that existed before the Inclosure Acts (that is before 1845)
-contains protected species listed in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
-contains species that are endangered, vulnerable and rare and identified in the British Red Data books
-includes woody species and associated features as specified in Schedule 1, Part II Criteria, paragraph 7(1) of the regulations.