What protections do hedgerows have when it comes to planning?

Last updated: 2 July 2025

Hedgerows are an important part of our country’s landscape and provide a valuable habitat for wildlife, by offering food and shelter to numerous species, so it’s important that they are protected. 

Hedgerows are often in danger of being removed or harmed, either to make space for development to be built or as a result of other land-use practices such as farming. This can have a negative impact on the wildlife that rely on them for food and shelter. However, regulations exist to protect hedgerows from development threats or other land-use practices. 

A countryside hedgerow can be defined as a boundary line of bushes which can also include trees. 

In England and Wales, the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 apply to most countryside hedgerows. Notice needs to be given to the local planning authority (LPA) of any intention to remove a hedgerow or part of one. 

First of all, it’s important to understand that the Regulations apply to almost all countryside hedgerows which are more than 20 metres long or connect to other hedgerows at each end. The Regulations don’t apply to hedges within or along the boundaries of private gardens. 

When considering the length of a hedgerow, any gap less than 20 metres or a gap resulting from an unauthorised hedgerow removal is treated as part of the hedgerow. A gap could be a break in the vegetation or it may be filled, for example by a gate. A gap wider than 20 metres would create separate hedges. 

An LPA can only prevent a hedgerow from being removed if it is considered an ‘important’ hedgerow (further detail on this below).  

Before removing any hedgerow, or part of a hedgerow, to which the Regulations apply, a ‘hedgerow removal notice’ describing the removal works, along with a location map, must be submitted to the LPA.  

The only exceptions to the need for a hedgerow removal notice are specific types of permitted work listed under the Regulations. It is permitted, for example, to remove part of a hedgerow to create a new access to land in place of an existing opening, but the existing access must be closed by replacement hedgerow planting within eight months. 

If the LPA issues a written notice that the hedgerow may be removed, or if the LPA fails to reply to the hedgerow removal notice within 42 days (six weeks), then the removal works may be carried out within a further 2-year period. 

The LPA can serve a ‘hedgerow retention notice’ in response to a hedgerow removal notice, to prohibit the proposed removal of the hedgerow.  

The LPA can only issue a hedgerow retention notice to prevent the removal of an ‘important’ hedgerow.  It is for the LPA, not the hedgerow owner, to determine whether the hedgerow is an important hedgerow or not. 

A hedgerow is important if it has existed for 30 years or more and has at least one of the features listed in Schedule 1 of the Regulations relating to archaeology, historical significance, species diversity, wildlife value and proximity to public rights of way.  

The LPA is under a duty to issue a hedgerow retention notice for important hedgerows unless there are circumstances which justify the proposed removal. The Regulations do not define such circumstances, but it is generally considered that only exceptional circumstances that are in the wider public interest may justify the removal of an important hedgerow. 

When considering a hedgerow removal notice, the LPA must consult with the local parish council.  

LPAs are required to keep a register of hedgerow removal notices which must be made available to the public free of charge. 

People can object to a removal of a hedgerow by submitting comments to the LPA, who will take them into account when making their decision. However, there is no requirement for the LPA to consult people beyond the parish council, so anyone interested would need to regularly check the register and make any comments within the 6-week notice period. 

A landowner may appeal a hedgerow retention notice. The appeal may either be dismissed (meaning that the hedgerow retention notice still stands so the hedgerow cannot be removed), or the notice may be quashed or modified, which would then allow all or some of the proposed removal works to take place. 

There is no third-party right of appeal against an LPA giving written consent for hedgerow removal works in response to a hedgerow removal notice. 

It is a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly remove a hedgerow without first submitting a hedgerow removal notice to the LPA and waiting for their written permission or for the 42-day notice period to expire. It is also a criminal offence to remove a hedgerow if a hedgerow retention notice has been served. Such actions can result in a fine or even a prison sentence. 

If an important hedgerow is removed without permission, or in contravention of a hedgerow retention notice, the LPA may serve notice on the owner to plant a replacement hedgerow. The replacement hedgerow is then treated as an important hedgerow for the next 30 years. 

The Hedgerow Regulations do not apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but landowners there are still required to protect hedgerows as a habitat for nesting birds. 

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits intentional damage to the nest of any wild bird, while that nest is in use or being built. Before any works are carried out to trim or remove any hedge (not just countryside hedges), the landowner must be certain that no nesting birds are present; a qualified ecologist may be needed to ascertain this, particularly where countryside hedgerows are concerned.  

The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations came into force in May 2024, which set out rules regarding the management of hedgerows on agricultural land. The rules include a hedgerow cutting ban from 1 March – 31 August to protect nesting birds, and a 2-metre wide buffer strip to be maintained around hedgerows which must be free of cultivation, pesticides and fertilisers. For more information on these regulations, see the links below.  

Natural England & DEFRA’s guidance on the protection and management of countryside hedgerows 

Government Guidance – Hedgerow management rules: cutting and trimming 

Government Guidance – Hedgerow management rules: buffer strips 

Hedgelink – Hedges Learning Guide 2 – Hedges and the law 

Hedgelink – learn more about the UK’s hedgerows in general