Protected trees and hedges

The Hedgerow Regulations 1997, protects hedgerows in rural areas. This means, you cannot remove them without permission.

The Hegerow Regulations do not include:

• garden hedges
• coppicing
• other forms of management that do not remove the roots

If you want to remove a rural hedgerow, you must:

• let us know at least six weeks before you want to start work
• send us details of the work you are planning to do
• give us enough details so that we can identifiy the location of the hedgerow

When we receive your notification we will:

• confirm we have received it
• use the confirmation date as the start of the six weeks’ notice period
• assess the hedgerow to see if it is important
• issue a Hedgerow Retention notice if the hedgerow is important

If we issue a Hedgerow Retention notice, you will not be able to remove the hedgerow.

If we do not issue a Hedgerow Retention notice within six weeks, you can remove the hedgerow.

Tree surgeons and contractors

If you are carrying out work to trees and hedgerows, you should use contractors with:

• suitable qualifications
• the right type and level of insurance

We do not have a list of tree surgeons and cannot make individual recommendations. You can find information and guidance from the Arboricultural Association.