The Hedge: Old or New?

[Earth Hart]

In the short span of time that is my life,(58yrs) I've seen the landscape change so much. Today, out walking on the Levels by a rhyne, I came to an old hedge. Walking along it, looking at the various trees, bushes & plants, I saw two guys cutting back a long section. I also saw about 40ft of hedge grubbed out & so I asked what was going on. The older of the two told me that the whole hedge was to be grubbed out & a new one planted He told me he was getting a grant to plant new hedgerows, so he was taking this one out to get it.

Where is the sence in this? Grants from the EUs CAP for new hedgerow, yet old ones are being grubbed out so that farmers can get the money . Has anyone come across anything so crazy?

[speckled wood]

Ludicrous, but nothing surprises me, I would be tempted to report it to Defra though as it is a form of fraud.

[Garden Carpet]

That is dreadful, clearly he is being paid more than it costs him to grub out, purchase new hedging and plant them. There is something very wrong in that.... it is most certainly immoral if not illegal.

[Wild-Woman]

All that habitat destroyed in the name of greed. How sickening.

[mrs fish]

The EU is getting me angrier by the day

[eeyore]

It has nowt to do with the eu cap , the grants for new hedgerows come from the govts environmental stewardship scheme (which replaced countryside stewardship this year )- which is adminsistered by defra. The idea is to pay for new hedgerows to be planted where old hedgerows were grubbed out a long time before , e.g in the field widening popular in the 70s.

What is happening here is fraud clear and simple , and I would strongly recomend that you take pictures of the work and contact defra asap.

[Earth Hart]

As you say w-w, it's the habitat destroyed. The new hedge will take about 100 yrs before it reaches anywhere near the density of the old one. Wildlife has lost a massive terraced housing estate.
This morning I went to see the local NFU officer about something completely different & broached the subject of hedgerow grants with regards to puting back hedges, during the meeting. When I mentioned the grubbing out, Tom's eyes nearly popped out of his head. I told him what the guys had said & showed him where it was on an large scale O.S. map of Shapwick Heath N.R. & surrounding farmland. He said he will see what he can do because this is not the first time it's happened & one farmer from nr. Glastonbury has been done for fraud. He took out a willow hedge last year.

Tom's a good guy , we've done talks together in the local schools. But this was the first time I'd taken something like this to him. I'm meeting up with him on Thursday for lunch, so we'll see.

[Owl-Light]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

The EU is getting me angrier by the day

Yeah nothing to do with the EU or the Government either. Humans are greedy and most businesses will use every opportunity to increase profits regardless of ethics. Farmers are often no different.

[Mr Mag00]

*in best mutley growl*

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it doesnt actually spell anything but the sentment is there

[NigelT]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

As you say w-w, it's the habitat destroyed. The new hedge will take about 100 yrs before it reaches anywhere near the density of the old one. Wildlife has lost a massive terraced housing estate.
This morning I went to see the local NFU officer about something completely different & broached the subject of hedgerow grants with regards to puting back hedges, during the meeting. When I mentioned the grubbing out, Tom's eyes nearly popped out of his head. I told him what the guys had said & showed him where it was on an large scale O.S. map of Shapwick Heath N.R. & surrounding farmland. He said he will see what he can do because this is not the first time it's happened & one farmer from nr. Glastonbury has been done for fraud. He took out a willow hedge last year.

Tom's a good guy , we've done talks together in the local schools. But this was the first time I'd taken something like this to him. I'm meeting up with him on Thursday for lunch, so we'll see.

Hi Earth Hart. You obviously have reasons to contact the various bodies locally in Somerset.

I have just mentioned today on another forum a hedge grubbed out and verge 'taken over' by someone locally including a rhyne to the betterment of their property !

Surely this isn't illegal? The location is near Puxton Church, North Somerset and they have removed some 100 yards of hedge and verge, erected a 6 ft close boarded fence TIGHT AGAINST THE HIGHWAY and encompassed the area into their garden, landscaping the verge in the process.

Apart from the loss of habitat, verge, hedge and the theft of land not owned by them, the site is on a tight bend on a narrow road.

Whom would one turn to to ask the question of the legality of such a thing, NFU, Defra or the Highways Dept.?

Grubbing up hedge rows is abominable and as I understand it from developments locally, unlawfull at the best of times let alone to plant new instead as per the subject of this item. I read somewhere, and I'm sure several will know the exact periods involved, that hedges take some 100 years per species to develop? As I understand it, that is how they date a hedge by the number of different species contained. What a terrible waste!