ANCIENT AND/OR SPECIES-RICH HEDGEROWS
LOCAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN

Action Completed! Action Completed! Action Completed! Action Completed! ACTION COMPLETED IN 2005

1. Cheshire Landscape Trust provided nearly 6000 free hedgerow trees and shrubs for planting new hedgerows and gapping up existing ones.
2. CLT provided 2000 free hedgerow plants for a hedgerow gapping up project with BASC members.
3. CLT provided over 1000 hedgerow plants for an Econet Project planting scheme in Utkinton.
4. CLT ran one hedge laying workshop.
5. CLT took hedgerow displays to the 2005 Cheshire Show and the 2004 Cheshire Ploughing and Hedgecutting Match.
6. BTCV continued to run hedge laying courses.
7. FWAG and DEFRA continued to provide advice to farmers and landowners on hedgerows, their management and funding opportunities through the Environmental Stewardship Scheme.
8. Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council’s annual Hedge-Laying Competition took place during February 2005.
9. CPRE continued to run their annual Hedgerow Awards.
10. In a recent BASC survey on the conservation work of their members it was found that 6770m of new hedge had been created, 1448m of hedgerow had been gapped up and 3120m had been laid in Cheshire in the last year.
10. Hedgerows and the need to maintain them were included in the Burwardsley Village Design and Parish Landscape Statement and the Weaverham Village Design and Parish Landscape Statement.
11. Members of the Warrington Nature Conservation Forum undertook a survey of the hedgerows in Burtonwood.

Action Completed! Action Completed! Action Completed! Action Completed!

OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS

National Targets
Halt the net loss of species-rich hedgerows through neglect and removal by the year 2000..
Halt all loss of hedgerows which are both ancient and species-rich by 2005
Achieve favourable condition for 25% (c.47,500km) of species-rich and ancient hedges by 2000.
Achieve favourable condition for 50% (c.95,000km) of species-rich and ancient hedges by 2005.
Maintain the overall national number of individual hedgerow trees (estimated by CS2000 to be 1.8 million in Great Britain in 1998), by maintaining the number of such trees within each county of district, through ensuring a balanced age structure.
Local Objectives	Local Targets
To identify the length of ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows in Cheshire.	Carry out 5 Parish surveys during 2005
	Plot all hedgerow survey data onto GIS to illustrate the extent of ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows by 2005.
To maintain the overall number of individual hedgerow trees through ensuring a balanced age structure	Provide 150 free hedgerow oaks to parish Tree Wardens, Tree Guardians and community groups from CLT's tree nursery during 2005.
To establish new hedgerows and gap up existing ones	Provide 2000 free hedgerow shrubs to Tree Wardens, Tree Guardians, schools and community groups from CLT's tree nursery during 2005.
	Encourage farmers and landowners to enter into the Countryside Stewardship Scheme
To promote education and awareness of hedgerows in order to encourage their conservation	Highlight hedgerows through displays at the Cheshire Show 2005 and the Cheshire Ploughing and Hedge-cutting Match 2005
	Write articles on hedgerows for each issue of CLT's quarterly newsletter, 'The Acorn'.
	Write 2 issues of the Hedgerow LBAP newsletter during 2005
	Hold 1 CLT hedgerow workshop during 2005, which is open to all members of the public.

CURRENT STATUS

Ancient hedgerows are those in existence before the Enclosures Acts, passed mainly between 1720 and 1840 in Britain. Species-rich hedgerows contain 5 or more native woody species in a 30m length. Exact details of what constitutes an important hedgerow are outlined in Hedgerow Regulations (1977). Recently planted species-rich hedges are also included in this Biodiversity Action Plan. Ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows in the UK support 47 extant species of conservation concern (Biodiversity: The Steering Group Report 1995). However, the extent of ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows within the Cheshire region is unknown. Nationally, it has been estimated that 42% of hedges (154,000km) are of this nature. The average loss of hedgerow in the county of Cheshire was estimated at 66% in 1992 (Cheshire County Council) with the greatest loss occurring in areas of high quality agricultural land. In lowland Cheshire, hedgerow trees are an integral part of ancient hedge systems and have been deliberately planted in later hedge systems. These trees constitute substantially to the wooded aspect of the rural Cheshire region.

The UK Steering Group Report, Volume 2 (1995) contains a costed Biodiversity Action Plan for ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows.

THREATS

Removal for agricultural and development purposes.
Cutting being too frequent, badly timed and poorly styled, leaving the hedge vulnerable to pressure from grazing stock and reducing the habitat quality.
Neglect, leading to the development of a line of trees.
Loss of hedgerow trees through senescence and lack of replacement.
Use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers right up to the base of hedgerows.
Increased stocking, particularly of sheep.

CURRENT ACTION

LBAP Action Group set up for ancient and/or species rich hedgerows.
Statutory protection of important hedgerows (The Hedgerow Regulations 1997).
Site visits on the request of local authorities to ensure correct implementation of The Hedgerow Regulations.
Article 10 of the EC Habitats Directive requires member states to encourage the management of hedges in their land use planning and development policies.
Hedgerow and tree planting initiatives.
Maintenance of the Marbury tree nursery and provision of free trees to local groups by CLT.
Advice and practical assistance from conservation organisations (e.g. FWAG, BTCV).
Provision of grants for planting and management of hedgerows (e.g. Countryside Stewardship).
Annual hedgelaying competition and annual ploughing and hedgecutting match.
Talks to a variety of community groups.
Co-ordination of hedgerow survey work by CLT using the CPRE hedgerow action pack and recruitment of volunteers to carry out the surveys.
Monitoring of planning applications which may have an impact on hedgerows and commenting as appropriate.
Support of the hedgerow review group and response to national correspondence concerning the revision of the Hedgerow regulations and development of national survey methodologies.
The resurveying of hedgerows originally surveyed by CFWI in 1977 is underway.
'Training courses run by CLT, BTCV and CCC on hedgerows and hedgelaying
Development of links with other LBAP action groups for species requiring hedgerows as a habitat (e.g. Dormouse and White-Letter Hairstreak butterfly)
102 hedgerow surveys being carried out across the county of Cheshire
BASC members invited to take part in hedgerow survey
In partnership with Life ECOnet Project, gapping-up strategic hedgerows across Cheshire
Working in partnership with Mersey Forest on seed collecting initiatives from strategic hedgerows
CLT providing hedgerow information and support to students undertaking hedgerow dissertations
Annual hedgelaying competition run by Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council

ACTION REQUIRED IN 2006+

Identify ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows and assist with the development of a national register of ancient and/or species-rich hedgerows.
Raise awareness amongst the public and land managers of the importance of hedges for wildlife, of their continued loss and the need of management to maintain biodiversity.
Encourage community groups to adopt and maintain hedges through mechanisms such as Local Agenda 21.
Encourage landowners to take up grants for planting and maintaining hedges, especially those which link important wildlife habitats.
Encourage a reduction in stocking levels of livestock.
Promote use of practices that can protect hedges from fertilisers and pesticides, e.g. conservation headlands and set aside.
Strengthen the statutory protection provided by The Hedgerow Regulations (1997).
Ensure development plans contain policies to promote the protection and management of hedges and seek to minimise adverse effects on hedges from planning proposals.
Enforce the requirement for felling licences for hedgerow trees and encourage the planting of replacements.
Encourage favourable cutting practices of hedgerows which border roads.
Develop hedge management skills (especially for contractors) through training as well as organising further training events on surveying hedgerows.
Carry out sample surveys at 10 year intervals to establish trends in ancient and/or species-rich hedgerow status and in number of hedgerow trees seen. Re-survey the hedges surveyed by the WI in 1977 to look at changes in condition.
Consider the need for further research on economic outlets for the produce of hedge management such as biomass and fuel wood.
Consider research on the effects of different hedge management regimes.
Research into the colonisation of wildlife from hedges into new woodlands established next to old hedges.
Inclusion of hedgerow work on the BAP group members' websites.
Develop links with the Veteran Trees Initiative to protect valuable hedgerow trees and their fauna.
Continue to extend the hedgerow survey to parishes not already covered.
In partnership with CCC, have the locations of ancient and/or species rich hedgerows identified in the survey recorded on GIS.
CLT and CPRE to liase on a gapping-up hedgerows project with the winners of the annual Cheshire CPRE Hedgerow competition.
In partnership with the Life ECOnet Project, to survey, map and gap-up strategic hedgerows across Cheshire.
In partnership with the Forestry Commission and Mersey Forest, to gap-up hedgerows at Old Pale Farm and Hopyards Wood Community Woodlands.
Increase the number of people taking part in the Hedgerow Survey, which is coordinated by CLT, by 5.
CLT to run one hedgerow workshop.
To continue raising awareness of hedgerows through displays at the Cheshire Show and Cheshire Ploughing and Hedge-cutting Match and through articles in various newsletters.
BTCV to continue running workshops on hedge laying.
FWAG to continue providing advice to farmers and landowners on hedgerows, their management and funding opportunities through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
CLT will continue to provide free hedgerow trees and hedgerow shrubs to Tree Wardens, Tree Guardians, schools and community groups for planting new hedgerows and gapping up existing ones.
CLT will continue to provide free hedgerow shrubs to BASC members to gap up existing hedges on their land

ACTION COMPLETED PREVIOUSLY

The Hedgerow Survey featured as a Campaign Project Profile in Shell Better Britain Campaign's 'Key Service' publication.
Generation of publicity by CLT for the LBAP and survey work, through articles written for 'The Acorn', 'The Grebe' and local press.
The CLT hedgerows display was featured at Cheshire Show 2002
Free hedgerow plants provided by CLT to Tree Wardens, schools and community groups for planting new hedgerows and gapping-up established ones.
Talks on hedgerows and the hedgerow survey given by CLT to various groups.
Two newsletters produced.
1.5km of hedgerows along Flittogate Lane, next to the Cheshire Show Ground, gapped-up to launch National Tree Week 2000.
40 surveys returned, which is over 91km of hedgerow surveyed.
All hedgerow activities were reduced during 2001 due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak.
In 2003 CLT provided 2000 hedgerow trees and shrubs for planting new hedgerows and gapping up existing ones.
CLT ran one hedgerow workshop at Reaseheath College in 2003.
CLT ran 3 Hedgerow Survey training days for BASC members in 2003
CLT took hedgerow displays to the Cheshire Show 2003 and 2004 and the Cheshire Ploughing and Hedgecutting Match in 2003 and 2004.
75 applications for Countryside Stewardship Scheme were submitted to DEFRA in 2003, which includes 29km of new species-rich hedgerows planted.
BTCV continued to run hedge laying courses through 2003 and 2004.
FWAG continued to provide advice to farmers and landowners on hedgerows, their management and funding opportunities through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme in 2003 and 2004.
Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council's annual Hedge-Laying Competition took place during February 2003 and February 2004.
CLT provided over 5000 free hedgerow trees and shrubs in 2004 for planting new hedgerows and gapping up existing ones.
BASC and CLT provided over 3000 free hedgerow plants for a hedgerow gapping up project with BASC members in 2004.
CLT ran one hedge laying workshop in December 2004.
CLT made a presentation to the Tree Council, National Grid Transco and several MPs in the House of Commons on Cheshire Hedgerows during June 2004.
2 Hedgerow newsletters were produced in 2004 (in May and December)
49 parishes have now returned hedgerow surveys and 112km of hedgerow has been surveyed.
CPRE continued to run their annual Hedgerow Awards in 2004.
Hedgerows and the need to maintain them were included in the Burwardsley Parish Landscape Statement produced in 2004, which is likely to receive Supplementary Planning Guidance status. The Action Plan will contain specific suggestions for locations that require gapping up.

ACTUAL LBAP IMPLEMENTERS

BASC	CPRE	Local landowners and managers
BTCV	Cheshire Special Landscapes Project	Mersey Forest
British Waterways	CWT	NFU
Cheshire Agricultural Society	Chester College	rECOrd
CCC	Chester Festival of Trees	Tree Wardens
CLA	FWAG	Upper Weaver Valley Initiative
CLT	Local groups and individuals	WI

OTHER POTENTIAL IMPLEMENTERS

ADAS	DEFRA	Hedgerow Contracting Association
Countryside Agency	FRCA

CONTACT

Katie Lowe, Cheshire Landscape Trust
Phone: 01244 376333
Fax: 01244 376016

REFERENCES

Cheshire County Council (1992): Cheshire State of the Environment Report, CCC, Chester.
HMSO (1997): The Hedgerow Regulations, London.
HMSO (1995): Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report, Volume 2: Action Plans, London.
HMSO (1995): Biodiversity: The UK Steering Group Report, Volume 1: Meeting the Rio Challenge, London.