The RPA Podacst - Episode 12

Welcome to the twelfth episode of The RPA Podcast. In our latest episode, we speak with Peter Clampett from RPA’s Regulatory and Advice Service about the hedgerows management regulations covering which hedgerows the rules apply to, the hedgerow cutting ban which is in force from the 1st of March to the 31st of August each year, how the rules apply to the 2m buffer strip, exemptions to the rules, how to apply for a derogation and when civil sanctions may be used.  

The implementation of the new hedgerow regulations (Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024) came into force in May 2024.

There is more information on Gov.uk. Farmers, land managers and general public can read the Hedgerow-management-rules-cutting-and-trimming page. There is also the Hedgerow management rules: buffer strips page on Gov.UK

You should also consider that if you do need to cut your hedgerow in the closed period, does it fall under an exemption?  And if it does, and you need to apply for a Derogation, read How to apply for written permission (a derogation). You can find guidance on all the rules and exemptions on GOV.UK.

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Transcript

RPA Podcast 12 : new hedgerows regulations.

Caroline Ling: Hello and welcome to the twelfth episode of The RPA Podcast. I’m Caroline Ling and in today’s episode we look at the hedgerows management regulations covering which hedgerows the rules apply to, the hedgerow cutting ban which is in force from the 1st of March to the 31st of August each year, how the rules apply to the 2m buffer strip, exemptions to the rules, how to apply for a derogation and when civil sanctions may be used. 

Caroline: Welcome to the RPA Podcast. New hedgerow regulations, the (Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024) came into force in May last year and RPA was appointed to act as the Regulator. A public consultation was launched to seek views on how the implementation of the regulations would be approached and earlier this year, RPA published a formal response to the consultation on its regulatory approach to hedgerows management, as well as the final statutory guidance and use of civil sanctions. The regulations set out the responsibilities farmers have for protecting hedgerows on, or next to, agricultural land.

Today we’re joined by Field Officer Pete Clampett who has been a Field Officer with RPA for 23 years, supporting farmers and land managers across a wide range of scheme and regulations. Welcome to the RPA Podcast Pete.

Pete: Thanks Caroline, it’s good to be here.

Caroline: So Pete. Can you tell us a little bit more about the public consultation?

Pete: Yes of course. There were actually two public consultations. The first was held by Defra back in June 2023 on how hedgerows regulation should be protected, and that was open to everyone in England. It received a phenomenal response with almost 9,000 people sharing their thoughts. There was overwhelming agreement that hedgerows are valuable assets for wildlife and the environment and responses to the consultation clearly supported protections. Then last year, we held a public consultation about RPA’s regulatory approach to enforcing the regulations. The consultation offered farmers, stakeholders and members of the public the opportunity to review our draft statutory guidance. The consultation covered various aspects of RPA’s regulatory approach, such as appeals and proportionate enforcement actions.

Caroline: So, Pete, can you tell us a bit more about the regulations and why they were introduced?

Pete: Of course, the regulations were introduced to protect hedgerows on agricultural land as they provide essential habitats as well as acting as a wildlife corridor. Hedgerows also help to slow soil erosion and support crop pollinators, which benefits the environment and supports farming.  We want to safeguard these crucial habitats and protect biodiversity through a no cutting period and mandatory buffer strips.  The put the baseline for hedgerow management practices into law, providing a consistent approach for their protection across the country and this includes a hedgerow cutting ban which runs from the 1st of March to the 31st of August each year, as well as a 2-metre buffer strip where a green cover must be established. 

Caroline: And which hedgerows do the rules apply to?

Pete: The rules apply if a hedgerow is more than 20m long with gaps of 20m or less in its length or is less than 20m long, but meets another hedgerow at each end. Any gap of 20 metres or less will be treated as part of the hedgerow. The rules apply if a hedgerow is growing on, or next to, land used for agriculture including: horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming  and the breeding and keeping of livestock – which includes horses, ponies and any animal kept for its use in farming, or for the production of food, wool or skins. It also includes grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens, nursery grounds and allotments, and any woodlands where agricultural activities take place.  

Caroline: But the management of hedgerows regulation isn’t just for hedgerow cutting or trimming?

Pete: No it’s not. There are three clear rules to be considered under the management of hedgerows regulations; one relates to the hedgerow cutting ban from the 1st of March to the 31st of August as I mentioned, but the other two relate to the 2m buffer strip which provides protection for the hedgerow.

A buffer strip for the purpose of this regulation is an area of uncultivated land providing a green cover which must extend 2m into an agricultural parcel, measured from the centre of a hedgerow. You can’t cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides to this buffer strip, and these rules apply to any person responsible for the hedgerow. This includes owners and tenants, and anyone employed, or acting on behalf of those responsible.   

Caroline: Thanks Pete. There are exceptions to the regulations though?

Pete: Yes there are. Cutting or trimming is permitted from the 1 of March to the 31 of August in a number of situations and you don’t need to notify RPA to ask for the exemptions listed on Gov.uk, but you must keep a record of all works that you carry out under an exemption so if you are visited by RPA you can prove how and why you relied on the exemption. These include a hedgerow overhanging a highway, road or footpath where there’s a public or private right of way and the hedgerow obstructs the passage of users, is a danger to users, or it obstructs the view of users or light from a public lamp.  

You also have an exemption if the hedgerow is dead, diseased, damaged or insecurely rooted and because of that is likely to cause danger by falling. 

Caroline: And what about other exemptions?

Pete: There are other exemptions around carrying out hedge-laying or coppicing during the period of the 1st of March to the 30th of April, or trimming a newly laid hedgerow by hand, within 6 months of it being laid. And it’s worth mentioning that hedgerows within the curtilage, or grounds of a dwelling house aren’t covered by the hedgerow rules, or if the hedgerow marks the boundary of the house, and this applies to both sides of the hedgerow. Other exemptions apply if you need to prevent or treat serious causes of harm to plant health, or if there’s a risk to human or animal health or safety, or if you need to prevent or treat a serious pest or weed infestation. However, it’s worth reading the rules on Gov.uk before doing anything as I’ve not covered everything, or where you may need to actually apply for a derogation before carrying out any work. 

Caroline: Thanks Pete, that’s good advice. So what are the changes to RPA enforcing the regulations that farmers need to be aware of following this?

Pete: Well, our approach to enforcing the hedgerow regulations will remain the same following the consultation. We’re proposing a fair and proportionate regulatory approach when deciding how we implement civil sanctions. We’ll offer advice and guidance to farmers, land owners and all others covered by the rules to help them to comply, but we will apply civil and criminal sanctions for more serious breaches. 

We’ve also made changes to the statutory guidance in response to the feedback. We received several responses suggesting that we should improve the examples to illustrate when different types of enforcement actions will be used and we’ve updated the statutory guidance to improve the examples to help make this clearer. We also received comments seeking clarity on the advice-led approach, and as I mentioned, we will, in most cases, provide advice and guidance in the first instance before taking enforcement action but in some cases, we may consider civil or criminal sanctions as our immediate response, where needed. 

Caroline: So now that the regulation is in place, what can a Farmer or Landowner expect if they’ve been referred to the RPA for a hedgerow management visit?

Pete: Well, currently there is a referral process which can be found on GOV.UK for members of the public or other organisations to provide RPA with details of hedgerows that are potentially not meeting the regulations.

As the Regulator we’re keen to ensure that we’re being fair and proportionate to all farmers and landowners, so once a referral is received and before a visit can be considered, several checks are conducted to ensure that the referral information is appropriate and contains clear evidence which suggests there’s a reason to visit. 

Caroline: So what happens once you’ve established there is a reason to visit?

Pete: A Field Officer will visit the farmer or land manager and assess if the hedgerow has been cut during the closed period, how much cutting has taken place, and is this reasonable and proportionate. Why was it cut, is the farmer or land manager aware of the regulations and was the available guidance followed?

Following the discussion, advice and guidance is given to the farmer or landowner where needed so that any subsequent cutting follows the regulations. This Advice and Guidance-led approach ensures we’re supportive of those the RPA regulates in helping them to do the right thing, but allows for the use of civil sanction enforcement actions in more serious cases of harm.

Caroline: And I believe every visit is assessed on a case-by-case basis?

Pete: Yes this helps the RPA reach the correct response to provide consistency and fairness. Taking this approach allows the RPA to implement the regulations in a fair and proportionate way.

Caroline: Thanks Pete. And what can farmers do to ensure they’re aware of the rules?

Pete: There is more information on Gov.uk. Farmers and land managers can read the Hedgerow-management-rules-cutting-and-trimming page. There is also the Hedgerow management rules: buffer strips page on Gov.UK

You should also consider that if you do need to cut your hedgerow in the closed period, does it fall under an exemption?  And if it does, and you need to apply for a Derogation, read How to apply for written permission (a derogation). You can find guidance on all the rules and exemptions on GOV.UK.

Caroline: Thanks Pete, we’ll put links for those into the transcript for this podcast. And finally, can you tell our listeners what your role, and the role of other Field Officers is in this? 

Pete: Yes, certainly. My role as a Field Officer is to offer advice and guidance to all farmers and land managers to support their understanding of the hedgerow regulations and help them to get it right. 

And it’s worth remembering that RPA’s Field Officers are a source of advice and guidance for farms in a wider context, we work with farmers and land managers to help them achieve the outcomes of their agreements and achieve regulatory compliance, by signposting to support, and also helping farmers and land managers consider what actions are needed where requirements haven’t been met.

Caroline: Pete, that was really helpful, thank you so much.

Pete: It’s been a pleasure.