A farm conservation group is urging the government to encourage hedgerow creation and maintainance.
Responding to a Defra consultation, the Nature Friendly Farming Network says the government should maintain hedgerow protection as an absolute minimum, arguing that hedges are crucial natural assets which require well-designed regulations.
The government has asked for views on hedgerow protection as it continues to pursue a post-Brexit farming strategy which is specially tailored to the England, rather than the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy.
It says hedgerows can store carbon and help the UK meet its Net Zero targets – as well as helping farmers to manage livestock, reduce soil erosion and lower water run-off while providing homes for pollinators and predators which can control pests.
The NFFN argues that hedgerows bring further benefits to farmers and the farmed landscpae. A stronger programme of monitoring and enforcement could see hedgerows deliver benefits for farm businesses and the environment, it adds.
NFFN chief executive Martin Lines said: “Hedgerows bring numerous benefits, from carbon sequestration and natural pest control to flood mitigation, but they are also a part of our countryside’s heritage.”
Bad practice
Existing regulations will not be enough on their own unless there are penalties for bad practice, explained Mr Lines.
“Removing basic hedgerow protection runs counter to the need to secure ecosystem functionality in ways that improve farming’s resilience.
“A move to a system of public money for public goods will only be successful if it’s underpinned by a clear regulatory baseline that protects the natural assets that our food production relies upon.”
Mr Lines added: “It’s a welcome step to see this consultation and we hope that it paves a sensible way forward, where existing hedgerow protections are maintained and subsequently built upon.”
