This week, three of Britain’s biggest conservation charities – The National Trust, World Wildlife Fund and RSPB – have announced they’re joining forces to try to halt the destruction of UK nature using Sir David Attenborough’s ‘Save Our Wild Isles’ campaign as their inspiration.
Part of this battle is happening very close to home, as Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) pledges to improve the hedgerow network in and around Ruddington to protect our local wildlife and help tackle the ‘climate emergency’ it declared in March 2019. The authority says it is now working closely with partners to reach out to farmers and landowners to provide advice and support on managing hedgerows. RBC’s ‘strategic aim’ is to increase the ‘hedgerow network’ by 40% across the Borough by 2050.
It recognises that hedges (such as the one pictured top in Rushcliffe Country Park) have a positive effect for both wildlife and the amenity of residents, and that they play a vital role in carbon reduction. It acknowledges hedgerows are an important component of the local countryside and play a crucial role in protecting wildlife and providing food, shelter and linear routes for many species. Bats are known to navigate and feed along hedgerows and over thirty British bird species nest in them. Mammals also use the areas for shelter, and ditches alongside hedgerows are home to a diverse range of invertebrates.
RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities and Climate Change Cllr Abby Brennan says: “A wildlife-rich environment has been shown to provide health and economic benefits. As part of our ‘Carbon Clever’ initiative and a step towards our plans to becoming carbon neutral by 2023, we are looking at ways we can further protect hedgerows. Most hedgerows are over 150 years old and they enhance the appearance and character of the Borough. They also provide homes and corridors for wildlife, crucial for biodiversity. We have hundreds of miles of hedgerow across the Borough and every single hedgerow is important for the environment. Many predate 1850 and we have measures in place to monitor and protect these areas.”
Indeed, the unauthorised removal of a hedgerow can result in a fine of up to £5000 from the Council and it can enforce replacement planting. Ironically, however, RBC has itself come under fire during the past few years for granting planning permissions under its ‘Local Plan Part 2’ which have allowed property developers to remove significant chunks of mature hedgerow and even some large trees in order to build their new housing estates on Ruddington’s former ‘Green Belt’ land – including along Asher Lane and Wilford Road (below). Whilst new trees and hedgerows have since been planted to ‘replace’ those lost, it’s acknowledged it will take decades to re-establish the biodiversity and carbon-capturing capabilities of those so readily uprooted.
Cllr Brennan adds: “We want to engage with private landowners and farmers and we’re taking further action to build those relationships and work with our partners. There is Government support and other sources of funding available from The Woodland Trust, The Forestry Commission and more to assist with the maintenance and management of hedgerows. I encourage private landowners and farmers to find out more about these opportunities and utilise free tools and trusted resources on our website. We also have a free guide to planting native hedgerows for residents”.
Further information from Rushcliffe Borough Council on protecting hedgerows, including advice on grant funding opportunities, can be found >>HERE<<.
