Hedgerow removal notice at Marrington Farm, Chirbury withdrawn

Shropshire Council wishes to advise that the Hedgerow Removal Notice (ref: 12/05237/HRM) received on 20 December 2012 has been withdrawn prior to the council issuing its decision.

The notice related to the removal of all 64 hedgerows on the farm, totalling over 11,000m in length.

In response to interest in the case, Heather Kidd, local Shropshire Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen, arranged a public meeting to discuss the Hedgerow Removal Notice. She  said:

“This is tremendous news that will be welcome for the hundreds of people, both local residents and others from further afield, who objected to the Notice. We all know the importance that a strong network of well-managed hedgerows has for the landscape and wildlife of Shropshire.”

Mal Price, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for conservation, said:

“I am delighted that common sense has prevailed in this case and the owner has decided to withdraw the current application. Although the council understands that it was not their intention to remove all of the hedgerows included on the Notice, it created a worrying precedent as it stood, and appeared to fly in the face of established good agricultural and environmental practice.”

The Hedgerows Regulations 1997 were made under section 97 of the Environment Act 1995 and came into operation 1 June 1997.  They introduced arrangements for a Local Planning Authority (LPA) in England and Wales to protect ‘important’ hedgerows in the countryside, by controlling their removal through a system of notification.

Subject to certain exemptions, landowners wishing to remove a qualifying hedgerow must first notify the LPA, explaining their reasons for wanting to remove it.  The LPA then has 42 days in which to grant or refuse consent, taking account of whether the hedgerow is ‘important’ and the reasons given for its removal.  If the LPA does not respond within this period, the hedgerow may be removed.

Schedule 1 to the Regulations sets out the criteria that must be used by an LPA in determining which hedgerows are ‘important’.  The criteria relate to the value of hedgerows from an archaeological, historical, landscape or wildlife perspective.  If a hedgerow qualifies under any one of the criteria then it is ‘important’ and the LPA can issue a Hedgerow Retention Notice to prevent its removal.