Under the hedgerow management regulations that came into force in May, there was a requirement to ensure certain hedges have a 2m buffer strip adjacent to them.
There are also restrictions on what can be done along the buffer strip.
With land in arable cropping starting to be harvested and establishment of next cropping taking place, it is important to ensure that relevant hedges have a buffer strip present next to them. This is an ideal time to ensure you are compliant.
These regulations are intended to protect hedges on agricultural land, alongside the regulations introduced for cutting and trimming hedges. These rules came into effect on 23 May 2024 however, the date for establishing a buffer strip will depend on what the adjacent field is being used for and whether or not the current crop has been harvested.
Where you need to use buffer strips
A hedgerow is a line of bushes which can include trees. Any trees growing in a hedgerow will be treated as part of the hedgerow.
It also includes hedgerows on top of a traditional hedgerow bank.
The buffer strip rules apply to a hedgerow if it meets the criteria for both length and location.
Length
The rules apply if a hedgerow is:
- more than 20m long with gaps of 20m or less in its length
- less than 20m long, but meets another hedgerow at each end.
Any gap of 20 metres or less will be treated as part of the hedgerow.
Location
The rules apply if a hedgerow is growing on, or next to, land used for agriculture, including:
- horticulture
- fruit growing
- seed growing
- dairy farming
- the breeding and keeping of livestock – this includes horses, ponies and any animal kept for its use in farming, for the production of food, wool or skins.
It includes grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens, and nursery grounds. And woodlands where agricultural activities take place.
Timings
The rules (which set out where buffer strips are required) for buffer strips will take effect as follows.
- On land used for crop production from the end of the first harvest after 1 July 2024.
- On all other land that these rules apply to (including permanent pasture and temporary pasture), from 1 July 2024.
This means that if you have had a crop planted in a field on 1 July 2024, you do not need to establish a buffer strip until after you have harvested this year’s crop (you may already have a buffer strip that is compliant in place).
However, you have to ensure a buffer strip is established before planting any future crop. This only applies to crop producing fields with a crop in the ground; it will not apply to fallow or other fields.
All other fields must have a buffer strip from 1 July onwards.
The regulations
The regulations for buffer strips outline what cannot be done within the buffer strip.
It includes restrictions on spreading fertilisers or pesticides, as well as ensuring a suitable green cover is maintained. The buffer strip is measured from the centre of the hedge to a width of 2m.
The regulations include the following.
- A 2m buffer strip, measured from the centre of a hedgerow, where a green cover must be established and maintained.
- No cultivation or the application of pesticides or fertilisers should take place within this buffer strip.
All reasonable steps need to be taken to establish (where needed), and maintain, a green cover on land within 2m of the centre of a hedgerow covered by the hedgerow management buffer strip rules.
The buffer strip cannot be cultivated or have fertilisers or pesticides applied however, this is subject to certain exemptions covered below.
The regulations also define a fertiliser and a pesticide. The definition for fertilisers includes any material which supplies nutrients for plant growth, there is also a list of examples which includes:
- inorganic and organic fertiliser
- organic manures
- lime
- slurry
- sewage sludge
- anaerobic digestate
- slag
- trace elements
- calcified seaweed
- human waste.
Pesticides are defined as anything used to destroy pests, including:
- herbicides
- fungicides
- insecticides
- other biocides.
None of these should be applied to a buffer strip, and steps should also be taken to ensure drift from sprayers or spreaders does not reach the buffer strip as this would still amount to a violation.
It is also important to remember that these new regulations will apply to any person responsible for the hedgerow. This can include owners or tenants, and anyone employed, engaged or otherwise acting on behalf of those responsible.
Exemptions and derogations
There are some exemptions to the above restrictions within a buffer strip however, this is only in limited circumstances.
- To control the spread of injurious or invasive weeds. (The full list of weeds can be found in the government guidance).
- Establishing new green cover to comply with the rules.
- Risks to plant, human or animal health.
- Weed or pest infestations.
There is additional information explaining where the current rules for buffer strips do not apply.
There is also additional guidance for applying to the RPA for a derogation in order to cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides along a buffer strip.
These are, however, limited to certain circumstances and the full guidance should be considered before submitting a derogation request.
A derogation on hedgerow buffer strips does not remove any other legal obligation on a farm, such as the Farming Rules for Water and the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones rules.
Where do these rules not apply?
The buffer strip rules do not apply in any of the following exemptions.
- To land either side of a hedgerow which is less than five years old (you’ll need to keep documentary evidence to prove this).
- To land forming part of a parcel of two hectares or less, as measured within permanent boundary features.
- To land on the side of any hedgerow which is facing a dwelling where the hedgerow marks a boundary of the curtilage of the dwelling.
- To land used for allotments (as defined by section 1 of the Allotments Act 1925).
- To the land next to a traditional hedgerow bank when it is being cast up between 1 September in any year and the last day of February in the following year.
Further guidance on the Hedgerow Management Regulations, including cutting and trimming rules, can be found at: GOV.UK | Hedgerow management rules: cutting and trimming.
