The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 prohibit removing a hedgerow they cover unless you have first served a hedgerow removal notice on the local planning authority and the authority has either said the hedgerow may be removed or let 42 days pass without giving a hedgerow retention notice. The notice is made on the form in Schedule 4 to the Regulations, with a plan and evidence, and the removal must follow the proposal in it and take place within two years of service. The Regulations apply in England and Wales.
- Notice period
- 42 days from receipt, or longer if agreed with the authority
- Authority options
- Say the hedgerow may be removed, or give a hedgerow retention notice
- Retention notice
- Stops removal until the authority withdraws it
- Appeal against a retention notice
- To the Secretary of State within 28 days
- Time to remove
- Within two years of serving the notice
Hedgerows covered
The Regulations apply to a hedgerow growing in or adjacent to common land, protected land, or land used for agriculture, forestry, or the breeding or keeping of horses, ponies or donkeys, if it:
- has a continuous length of 20 metres or more; or
- is shorter than 20 metres but meets another hedgerow at each end
Protected land means a local authority nature reserve or land notified as a site of special scientific interest. The Regulations do not apply to a hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking the boundary of the curtilage of, a dwelling-house.
Removal that is permitted without a notice
Regulation 6 permits removal of a hedgerow that is required, among other things:
- to make a new opening in place of an existing one, in which case you must plant a hedge in the old opening within 8 months
- to obtain temporary access in an emergency, or access where no other means is available or it would cost a disproportionate amount
- for national defence
- to carry out development with planning permission, but not development that is permitted by the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order (apart from the Parts for local or private Acts and toll road facilities)
- for flood defence or land drainage work
- to prevent the spread of, or eradicate, a plant or tree pest
- for the highway functions of the Secretary of State or a strategic highways company, or to clear electric lines
- for the proper management of the hedgerow
Permitted work does not override any other legal restriction or agreement.
Important hedgerows
A hedgerow is 'important' if it has existed for 30 years or more and meets at least one criterion in Part II of Schedule 1. The authority must give a retention notice for an important hedgerow unless satisfied that there are circumstances which justify removing it, and cannot give one for a hedgerow that is not important. The criteria cover:
- archaeology and history, such as marking a pre-1850 parish or township boundary, incorporating a scheduled or recorded archaeological feature, or being an integral part of a pre-Inclosure Acts field system
- wildlife and landscape, such as containing certain protected or listed species, or having at least 7 woody species (fewer where it also has specified features such as a bank or wall, or in the listed northern counties)
Offence and replacement
It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly remove, or cause or permit another person to remove, a hedgerow without a removal notice cleared in this way, or in breach of a retention notice. Separately, if a hedgerow has been removed unlawfully the authority may serve a notice on the owner requiring a replacement hedgerow, specifying the species, position and planting period. A replacement hedgerow is treated as an important hedgerow for 30 years.