Consent types

Application for Hedgerow Removal Notice

The Environment Act 1995¹

The Hedgerows Regulations 1997²

What is a hedgerow removal notice?

A hedgerow removal notice is required when you want to remove all, or part of, a hedgerow, protected by the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.

The regulations are designed to protect important hedgerows in England and Wales. Anyone proposing to remove a hedgerow, or part of a hedgerow, covered by the regulations, must first notify the local planning authority by submitting a Hedgerow Removal Notice.

It is a criminal offence to remove a protected hedgerow in contravention of the regulations.

If you are uncertain about whether your proposed works are affected by the regulations, you are advised to submit a Hedgerow Removal Notice to the local planning authority for determination.

Which hedgerows are protected?

Hedgerows are protected if they:

• grow in, or adjacent to any common land, local nature reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), or land used for agriculture, forestry of the breeding or keeping of horses, ponies of donkeys and
• have a continuous length of at least 20 metres, or if less than 20 metres, meets another hedgerow at each end
• have existed for 30 years or more.

When working out the total length of a hedgerow, any gap resulting from a breaking these regulations and any gap less than 20 metres should be treated as part of the hedgerow.

A hedgerow, which meets another hedgerow, is to be treated as ending at the point of intersection or junction. The regulations do not apply to any hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking a boundary of the curtilage of, a dwelling house.

The local planning authority may refuse consent only if the hedgerow is important. For these purposes, an important hedgerow is one which is 30 years old or more and meets at least one of the archaeological and ecological criteria set out in the regulations.

It is often helpful to discuss your proposal with your local authority before you send in your application – this is known as 'pre-application advice'. Your local authority will normally have details of how to go about this on their website.

Information required

The notice should contain reasoning for why the hedgerow will be removed, alongside additional information such as the length and age of the hedgerow. To support your proposal, you may be required to provide evidence of when the hedgerow was planted.

The applicant will have to provide their interest in the hedgerow.

A scale plan showing the stretch(es) of hedgerow to be removed should be provided. This plan must clearly indicate the location and length of the hedgerows to be removed.

Timeline

Once the notice is submitted, the local planning authority has 42 days to respond, unless the person applying agrees to extend this time period. By the end of this period they must either provide:

• a notice stating the hedgerow may be removed; or,
• a hedgerow retention notice, stating that the work may not be carried out.

Fees

There is no fee applied to this application type.

What happens next?

Once the local authority approves the notice, the hedgerow should be removed within two years from when the initial hedgerow removal notice was served.

Further resources

Countryside hedgerow protection: removing hedgerows³

1. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/25/contents
2. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1160/contents
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countryside-hedgerows-regulation-and-management