1 Scope of Hedgerow Protection
12.198 Traditional hedgerows are given legal protection against grubbing up and damage by the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.303 The 1997 Regulations apply to ‘important’ hedgerows.
A hedgerow is ‘important’ for these purposes if it (or the hedgerow of which it is a stretch) meets two criteria: it must have existed for 30 years or more, and it must also satisfy at least one of the qualifying criteria that are set out in Part II of Sch 1 to the 1997 Regulations.304 Schedule 1 set out very detailed prescriptions for qualifying hedgerows that include criteria relevant to their role both in relation to historical and archaeological sites and in relation to nature conservation. A hedgerow is ‘important’ (and therefore protected) if, for example, it contains any protected bird species, and/or any protected animals or plants listed under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It will also be classified as important if it contains any breed of birds identified as a declining breeder, or any species of animal and/or plant identified as endangered, extinct, rare or vulnerable in the relevant British Red Data Books. A hedgerow can also be classified as important if it is recorded in a record held by a biological record centre maintained by or on behalf of the local authority, and is recorded as containing any of these animal or bird species in the last five years, or any of the plant species in the last 10 years12.199 The 1997 Regulations also go into considerable detail as to the mix of woody tree species that must be a constituent part of the hedge for it to be classified as ‘important’.305 The number of woody species required would also depend upon whether additional hedgerow features (such as hedge banks or walls, ditches, and small gaps) are present. The regulations require there to be at least seven woody species present in the hedgerow, or a lesser number if additional features are also in evidence – six woody species if at three of the additional features are present and five woody species if there are four additional features.
A hedgerow will also be ‘important ‘ if it contains at least six woody species including at least one of the following species of tree characteristic of traditional hedgerows – the black-poplar tree (Populus nigra ssp betulifolia), large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos), small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) and the wild service-tree (Sorbus torminalis). The number of woody species required is also differentiated by geographic location – for the northern counties of England the number required in each case is reduced by one. To add to the complexity of the regulation, one of the additional features that will lead to the classification of a hedgerow as important (and protected) is the presence of at least three woodland plant species within one metre, in any direction, of the outermost edges of the hedgerow – and the identity of the plants concerned are set out in considerable detail.306