Check if permission required to remove a hedgerow
Under the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 you need to notify us if you wish to remove (uproot or destroy) a hedgerow that:
- Grows in, or adjacent to any common land, Local Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest, or land used for agriculture, forestry, or for the breeding or keeping of horses, ponies or donkeys and
- Has a continuous length of at least 20 metres, or if less than 20 metres, meets another hedgerow at each end
Coppicing, layering and the removal of dead or diseased shrubs or trees are treated as normal management.
The regulations do not apply to any hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking a boundary of the curtilage of a house.
Apply to remove a hedgerow
To get permission to remove a hedgerow you need to apply, on the Planning Portal for a Hedgerow removal notice.
Apply for a hedgerow removal notice
. You will need to state the hedgerow's:
- Age
- Type
- Location
- Reason why it needs removing
For further details, see the guidance on completing a hedgerow removal notice.
Once a notice has been served, the council has six weeks to decide if a hedgerow is important and should stay.
There is a strong presumption that important hedgerows will be protected. To be important the hedgerow must be at least 30 years old and meet at least one of eight criteria specified in the regulations.
There are a number of exclusions to the need to obtain permission. For further advice, please use our contact us form.
View statutory register of hedgerow notices
You can view hedgerow notices held in the statutory register at Hereford Customer Services, Blueschool Street, Hereford HR1 2LX.
Appeal a hedgerow removal decision
You can appeal within 28 days of receiving our decision to:
Environment Appeals Team
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 4/04 Kite Wing
2 The Square
Temple Quay House
Bristol
BS1 6PN
Telephone: 0117 372 8192
For further information visit the government's appeal a hedgerow notice page.
Hedgerow removal without permission
Hedgerow removal without permission is a criminal offence and you could face a fine in either the magistrate's or crown court.
You could also be required to replant the hedge and it will automatically be deemed important for 30 years after being planted.
You can report an issue with a hedgerow removal to us at:
Hedgerows and planning applications
We will normally seek to keep hedgerows on development sites unless there are exceptional circumstances for removal.
If you would like to remove a hedgerow as part of a development, you should list compensation proposals for the loss of the hedgerow with the planning application.
For further guidance see page 28 of the Biodiversity supplementary planning guidance.