Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 to extend protections to (a) urban and (b) countryside hedgerows that are deemed important to the character of local landscapes.

HM Government recognises the importance and value of hedgerows, which have a key role in conserving and enhancing biodiversity.

Although there is local variation, research has indicated that, nationally, over 70% of hedgerows in England and Wales are 'important' and protected by the Hedgerow Regulations. The Regulations do not cover urban hedges which are covered by the planning system but do play a valuable role in providing statutory protection for a large proportion of hedgerows in the countryside. Although the risk of removal of Hedgerows is now extremely low compared to when the Regulations came into effect, we are currently exploring the best possible ways to further protect and enhance hedgerows as an important habitat.

In addition, through planning decisions, local authorities have the ability to impose enforceable planning conditions on a developer to protect hedges or trees assessed as being worthy of retention, which might otherwise be harmed by construction or the new land-use. Developments which are subject to the Environment’s Act biodiversity gain requirement will also have to measure their impact on hedgerows with the biodiversity metric. Any losses will have to be compensated for with new or enhanced hedgerows, either on the development site or elsewhere

Furthermore, all wild birds, their eggs and their nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which prohibits killing, injuring, or taking of wild birds or taking or damaging their eggs and nests, providing further important protections for most hedgerows and wild birds.