Do I need planning permission to replace a domestic hedge?
Discussion
Edited to add more detail:
The hedge along the front of our house is dreadful, in my opinion. In typical agricultural hedge fashion, it is a bank of soil about 2 feet tall, with some kind of thorn hedge along the top of it. Whilst it contains modicum of green foliage in the summer, it spends about 6 months of the year looking like an 8-9ft tall pile of scabby twigs, which you can see through.
When we built the house about 4 years ago, there was a condition in the planning permission that the front hedge (the one I'm talking about) must be protected during the build except for where we punched through for the driveway (there was no mention of how much hedge we could remove for the driveway):
The condition on my planning permission which mentions the front hedge is this:
Before any development is commenced on the site, including site works of any description, a protective fence in accordance with Fig. 2 in B.S. 5837: 2012 shall be erected around the tree and hedges to be retained at the extent of the Root Protection Area as calculated using the formula set out in B.S. 5837. Within the areas fenced off no fires should be lit, the existing ground level shall be neither raised nor lowered, and no materials, temporary buildings or surplus soil of any kind shall be placed or stored thereon. The fence shall thereafter be retained at all times during construction works on the site.
Reason: In order to ensure that adequate protection is afforded to all trees and hedges to be retained on site in support of Local Policies.
I presume these conditions were present because we live in a village, and the planners were trying to preserve some form of countryside look to the front of the plot.
I would like to pull the hedge out, remove the mound of soul, levelling it with the grass verge outside the property, and then planting something evergreen and fast growing, such as Cherry Laurel or Portuguese Laurel. This would be a vast improvement for both aesthetics and privacy.
Our house is not within the local conservation area, and from what I understand, only agricultural lands requires planning permission to remove or replace a hedge.
But, I have been wrong on many occasions, so I thought I would ask you knowledgeable people.
The hedge along the front of our house is dreadful, in my opinion. In typical agricultural hedge fashion, it is a bank of soil about 2 feet tall, with some kind of thorn hedge along the top of it. Whilst it contains modicum of green foliage in the summer, it spends about 6 months of the year looking like an 8-9ft tall pile of scabby twigs, which you can see through.
When we built the house about 4 years ago, there was a condition in the planning permission that the front hedge (the one I'm talking about) must be protected during the build except for where we punched through for the driveway (there was no mention of how much hedge we could remove for the driveway):
The condition on my planning permission which mentions the front hedge is this:
Before any development is commenced on the site, including site works of any description, a protective fence in accordance with Fig. 2 in B.S. 5837: 2012 shall be erected around the tree and hedges to be retained at the extent of the Root Protection Area as calculated using the formula set out in B.S. 5837. Within the areas fenced off no fires should be lit, the existing ground level shall be neither raised nor lowered, and no materials, temporary buildings or surplus soil of any kind shall be placed or stored thereon. The fence shall thereafter be retained at all times during construction works on the site.
Reason: In order to ensure that adequate protection is afforded to all trees and hedges to be retained on site in support of Local Policies.
I presume these conditions were present because we live in a village, and the planners were trying to preserve some form of countryside look to the front of the plot.
I would like to pull the hedge out, remove the mound of soul, levelling it with the grass verge outside the property, and then planting something evergreen and fast growing, such as Cherry Laurel or Portuguese Laurel. This would be a vast improvement for both aesthetics and privacy.
Our house is not within the local conservation area, and from what I understand, only agricultural lands requires planning permission to remove or replace a hedge.
But, I have been wrong on many occasions, so I thought I would ask you knowledgeable people.
Edited by Le Gavroche on Tuesday 3rd June 07:36
Pit Pony said:
You are putting back a hedge? No issue.
Correct. We will be replacing a thorn hedge with an evergreen hedge.
My only concern was the conditions that were issued when planning was granted, about retaining the existing hedge.
But I don't know enough about planning to know if these conditions:
a) Have expired/been discharged upon completion and sign-off of the build, and therefore no longer apply.
b) Have any teeth. eg Can the planning department actually do anything to me if I pull the hedge out.
Could be an issue.
Is it in AONB/SSSI/ConArea or anything?
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
Also in parts of the West Country, a 'hedge' is a wall or bank, with or without the vegetation.
And if any tree in the hedge has enough girth to be significant, then getting rid of it can be a planning matter.
Is it in AONB/SSSI/ConArea or anything?
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
Also in parts of the West Country, a 'hedge' is a wall or bank, with or without the vegetation.
And if any tree in the hedge has enough girth to be significant, then getting rid of it can be a planning matter.
OutInTheShed said:
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
^^^ ThisSimilarly, if they thought the combined mound and hedge were worth protecting you could be at risk removing the mound.
Safest to replace like for like, avoiding the cost of a cock-up.
OutInTheShed said:
Could be an issue.
Is it in AONB/SSSI/ConArea or anything?
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
Also in parts of the West Country, a 'hedge' is a wall or bank, with or without the vegetation.
And if any tree in the hedge has enough girth to be significant, then getting rid of it can be a planning matter.
No, we are not in any of those designated areas. We are about 200 metres outside the village local conservation area.Is it in AONB/SSSI/ConArea or anything?
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
Also in parts of the West Country, a 'hedge' is a wall or bank, with or without the vegetation.
And if any tree in the hedge has enough girth to be significant, then getting rid of it can be a planning matter.
Panamax said:
OutInTheShed said:
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
^^^ ThisSimilarly, if they thought the combined mound and hedge were worth protecting you could be at risk removing the mound.
Safest to replace like for like, avoiding the cost of a cock-up.
I have no intention of replacing like for like as the current hedge looks awful. I will replace the coverage/meterage of the hedge like for like, but with evergreen rather than thorn.
Someone else in the village has installed a huge cherry laurel hedge along their considerable frontage (in front of a historic property) for screening and privacy purposes. But is that different to removal and replanting?
You'd probably get a better reception if you replace the hedge with native species.
I planted a mix of beech, hawthorn, dog rose and other native hedging species and the little tiny sticks grew into a thick 8ft high hedge within a couple of years. Definitely can't see through it in the winter.
I've got cherry laurel hedges around the back garden (not planted by me) and they're OK, but do virtually nothing to help local wildlife with food or shelter.
I planted a mix of beech, hawthorn, dog rose and other native hedging species and the little tiny sticks grew into a thick 8ft high hedge within a couple of years. Definitely can't see through it in the winter.
I've got cherry laurel hedges around the back garden (not planted by me) and they're OK, but do virtually nothing to help local wildlife with food or shelter.
Panamax said:
OutInTheShed said:
Planners are often picky about materials and changing from native to suburban evergreen could be a trigger.
^^^ ThisSimilarly, if they thought the combined mound and hedge were worth protecting you could be at risk removing the mound.
Safest to replace like for like, avoiding the cost of a cock-up.
It'll depend on the wording of the condition, but generally you're only allowed to replace if it's dead, and then you're only allowed to replace like-with-like. Much as with the opening in the hedge, another condition will refer to the documents submitted with the application to confirm the specification with which to comply.
As it's mentioned in a planning condition, any change will probably require planning permission. You can contact your local authority and see if they can give any advice (you may have to pay).
I would recommend leaving it alone - it's a repository of a much wider range of flora and fauna than you think, and grubbing it up to replace it with a bland monoculture would be a pity.
NDNDNDND said:
Double this.
It'll depend on the wording of the condition, but generally you're only allowed to replace if it's dead, and then you're only allowed to replace like-with-like. Much as with the opening in the hedge, another condition will refer to the documents submitted with the application to confirm the specification with which to comply.
I would recommend leaving it alone - it's a repository of a much wider range of flora and fauna than you think, and grubbing it up to replace it with a bland monoculture would be a pity.
I absolutely understand where you are coming from, and I appreciate the advice.It'll depend on the wording of the condition, but generally you're only allowed to replace if it's dead, and then you're only allowed to replace like-with-like. Much as with the opening in the hedge, another condition will refer to the documents submitted with the application to confirm the specification with which to comply.
I would recommend leaving it alone - it's a repository of a much wider range of flora and fauna than you think, and grubbing it up to replace it with a bland monoculture would be a pity.
I think it would look much better with a thick lush green hedge all year round, rather than what we have at the moment.
Additionally my cat appears to have rid the hedge of all wildlife over the last 3 years. When we bought the plot of land there were birds nesting in the hedge, but since we pulled a chunk of it out for the driveway entrance and then built the house, there has been no birds or nesting in the hedge so I genuinely do not think I'm disturbing anything.
NDNDNDND said:
As it's mentioned in a planning condition, any change will probably require planning permission. You can contact your local authority and see if they can give any advice (you may have to pay).
I'm trying to get some advice from the LA, but started this thread as speaking to anyone from council planning is proving very tricky. I suspect they are very short staffed and overly busy.Edited by Le Gavroche on Thursday 5th June 08:47
I'm reading this:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countryside-hedgerows-...
and this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/over-th...
I might be reading it wrong, but apparently:
"You might need permission from your local council to cut back or remove a hedge if you live in a conservation area or if trees in the hedge are protected by a tree preservation order"
I do not live in a conservation area, and my hedge is not subject to a TPO.
and
"Residential hedges are also not covered by these regulations"
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countryside-hedgerows-...
and this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/over-th...
I might be reading it wrong, but apparently:
"You might need permission from your local council to cut back or remove a hedge if you live in a conservation area or if trees in the hedge are protected by a tree preservation order"
I do not live in a conservation area, and my hedge is not subject to a TPO.
and
"Residential hedges are also not covered by these regulations"
Edited by Le Gavroche on Monday 2nd June 14:17
The Three D Mucketeer said:
I think you answered your own question .... The type of hedge was a condition of the planning approval 4 years ago ... QED 
Maybe? Maybe not?Do these conditions last forever? Do they expire? Can the council actually enforce the keeping of the hedge years after the build has been complete? What powers do they have in regards to this?
etc.
Le Gavroche said:
The Three D Mucketeer said:
I think you answered your own question .... The type of hedge was a condition of the planning approval 4 years ago ... QED
Maybe? Maybe not?Do these conditions last forever? Do they expire? Can the council actually enforce the keeping of the hedge years after the build has been complete? What powers do they have in regards to this?
etc.
If can can ignore them ... then why do the put them in place in the first instance ???
The Three D Mucketeer said:
Go and ask them ... and see what they say
If can can ignore them ... then why do the put them in place in the first instance ???
I'm trying to ask them. Speaking to someone is proving difficult. If can can ignore them ... then why do the put them in place in the first instance ???
Councils, especially their planning departments, have previous for issuing incorrect advice. (Not saying mine has done this, just experience elsewhere in the country).
I have found in the past that PH is more knowledgeable on the law.
Edited by Le Gavroche on Thursday 5th June 08:48
You want to understand the original intent.
To me, it sounds like the intent was that you'll continue to have a hedge, instead of exposed frontage (ooh-err)
But if this clause was surrounded by any context that described exactly what sort of hedge it is, I would take that straight back.
Only one way to find out:fight talk to the Planning people.
To me, it sounds like the intent was that you'll continue to have a hedge, instead of exposed frontage (ooh-err)
But if this clause was surrounded by any context that described exactly what sort of hedge it is, I would take that straight back.
Only one way to find out:
Le Gavroche said:
Do these conditions last forever? Do they expire? Can the council actually enforce the keeping of the hedge years after the build has been complete? What powers do they have in regards to this?
etc.
I have a similar condition, but the case officer's reported stated how long it had to be retained. Worded as follows.etc.
[i]The landscaping/planting scheme shown on the submitted plan shall be completely retained as per the submitted plan from the date of commencement of the development.
For a period of five years after the completion of the development, the trees and shrubs shall be protected and maintained in a healthy weed free
condition and any trees or shrubs that cease to grow, shall be replaced by trees or shrubs of similar size and species or other appropriate trees or shrubs as may be approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
Reason: To ensure that the proposed development does not harm the character and appearance of the area.[/i]
Typically the hedge isn't where i'd like it to be, so I planted a Portuguese laurel hedge in front of it and now nearly 5 years later it's established enough where I can rip out the old hedge behind to retain the privacy screen I wanted, and to satisfy the condition. I was tempted to remove it sooner with the view the local authority probably have better things to spread their limited resources over, but it's actually taken this long for the replacement hedge in the right place to become established!
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