Following Defra's consultation on how to ensure hedgerows in England continue to get the right level of protection once cross compliance ended, new legislation has now become law under the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024.
Defra sought views on:
how the protection of hedgerows should be approached after the end of cross compliance
the sanction regime that could be applied to enforce compliance
Defra outlined two possible pathways for the future. The first saw the cross compliance rules adopted into domestic legislation through the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.
The second was a longer process where Defra would construct a body of original domestic policies to cover the management of hedgerows.
Defra said it would pursue the first option, incorporating the cross compliance rules into domestic legislation. It intends to present the necessary legislation for this as soon as parliamentary time allows.
This page was first published on 12 October 2023. It was updated on 23 May 2024.
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