The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking views on how best to manage hedgerows going forward.
It has launched a consultation today (Wednesday, June 28) asking farmers, food producers and interest groups’ views on the best way to maintain and improve existing protections, as well as on Defra’s approach to enforcement.
The consultation will run for 12 weeks until September 20; its aim is to create domestic legislation in the move away from the EU and its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
This new legislation will also be key to the government’s commitment to support farmers to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerows by 2037 and 45,000 miles of hedgerows by 2050.
Commenting on the consultation, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thérèse Coffey said:
“Hedgerows are a landmark of the British countryside, providing shelter and food for native species, taking carbon out of the atmosphere and reducing flooding.
“We are already enhancing hedgerows through our new farming schemes, and the consultation launched today will provide further legislative backing to make sure our hedgerows are better managed and protected in the future.”
The consultation can be responded to online using the Citizen Space consulation hub at Defra, or in writing to the Hedgerow Protections Team.
A consultation summary of responses will be published after it closes.
