§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of existing hedgerows they deem to be important; and whether this figure includes all hedgerows which are already legally protected under pre-1840 Enclosure Acts. [HL659]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)At the time that the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 were introduced it was estimated that some 20 per cent of countryside hedges in England and Wales would qualify as important. Information collected by ADAS during its research into the Hedgerows Review Group's proposed criteria defining importance suggests that the figure could be at least 57 per cent. The higher figure includes hedges which are an integral part of a field system dating from before 1845 or, in the case of an enclosure field system, from before 1870, and where the system is substantially complete. A copy of the ADAS research report, which was published in November last year, has been placed in the House Library.