1. This guidance covers the procedures for appeals against Hedgerow Retention Notices and Hedgerow Replacement Notices issued by local authorities (LAs) in England. If you want to appeal against a notice issued in respect of a hedgerow in Wales, please contact: The Planning Inspectorate, Crown Buildings, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ, or telephone 029 2082 3892.

2. The legal background to the appeal procedures is set out in Section 97 of the Environment Act 1995; the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1160) and ‘The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 - A Guide to the Law and Good Practice’ (revised August 1998). These publications can also be obtained from The Stationery Office (TSO), St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1PD or online at www.opsi.gov.uk.
You may also be able to borrow them from your local library.

3. The Regulations apply to most countryside hedgerows. In particular, they affect hedgerows which are 20 metres or more in length; which meet another hedgerow
at each end; are on or adjoin land used for: agriculture, forestry, the breeding or
keeping of horses, ponies or donkeys, common land, village greens, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or Local Nature Reserves. Garden hedges are not affected.

4. The purpose of the Act and Regulations is to protect important countryside hedgerows from removal, either in part or whole. Removal not only includes
grubbing out, but anything which could result in the destruction of the hedge. If a hedge is removed without consent, in contravention of the Regulations , the local authority may require its replacement.

Appeals

5. Appeals can be made to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (“the Secretary of State”) against Hedgerow Retention Notices
and Hedgerow Replacement Notices.

6. The Secretary of State has delegated the power to decide appeals to
Inspectors (please see paragraph 10). There are no statutory time limits
for dealing with appeals, but the Planning Inspectorate will provide the
parties with provisional deadlines for the receipt of representations.

7. Prospective appellants are advised to speak to their LA to try to resolve
any difficulties or disagreements before making an appeal. An appeal should
only be made as a last resort.

How to appeal

8. Your appeal must be made within 28 days from the date of the Retention or Replacement Notice. A longer period may be allowed in very exceptional
circumstances.

9. Your appeal should be made in writing on a form obtained from the Planning Inspectorate. If you are reading an electronic copy of this guidance you
may access the form:

Download an appeal form

Download the Hedgerow appeal form in Word 404KB

Download the Hedgerow appeal form in PDF 242KB

The appeal form may be returned to us electronically by e-mail to: environment.appeals@pins.gsi.gov.uk, or you can print it out and post it to
us. You may also obtain a form by telephoning or writing to us at the
address below. When completing the form you will be required to include:

your grounds of appeal;
a copy of the Retention or Replacement Notice issued by the LA
a statement indicating whether you would like the appeal to be
dealt with by written representations, a hearing or local inquiry.
(The 3 procedures are described below).

You may also include any other document which you think may help your case

10. Your appeal form and documents should be sent to:

Environment Appeals Team
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 4/04 Kite Wing
2 The Square
Temple Quay House
Bristol
BS1 6PN

Tel: 0117 372 8812

The Planning Inspectorate is an executive agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Recreation and Environmental Appeals Team is responsible for ensuring that appeals made under section 97 of the Environment Act 1995 are processed in accordance with the Regulations and in a timely manner. In addition to answering general queries on appeal procedures we will also assist with information on the progress of specific cases.

11. At the same time that you send your appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, you must copy the form and accompanying documents to the LA against whose notice you are appealing.

12. When an appeal is made against a Retention Notice, the notice remains in effect until the appeal is decided.

What happens after we receive your appeal

13. We will check your appeal to make sure it is valid and that it has been made within the deadline for its receipt. If you have sent us everything we need to be able to process it, we will send you written confirmation notifying you of the start date for your appeal. All procedural deadlines involved in the processing of your appeal will be timed from this start date and the timetable will be set out in the start letter. On the same day that we write to you
we will notify the LA of the start date and will send them a questionnaire
which they must complete and return to us within 2 weeks of the start date.
When returning the questionnaire to us the LA are required to provide:

a copy of your application to remove the hedge (for Retention Notices);
a copy of the Retention or Replacement Notice;
a copy of any comments from the Parish or Community Council;
a location plan;
the authority's evaluation of the hedge. Where the hedgerow is claimed to be important for historic and/or archaeological reasons, this should include copies of source documents/plans. Where species composition is relevant, a survey will be required and this should also include associated features if relied upon;
confirmation of the LA’s preferred procedure for determining the appeal, whether they are content to proceed by way of written representations or whether they wish to be heard by the appointed Inspector at a hearing or local inquiry; and
any other docments they feel are relevant to their case.

14. At the same time that the authority sends us the questionnaire and documents to us i.e. within 2 weeks of the start date, they will copy them to you.

15. Within 6 weeks of the start date both you and the LA should send 2 copies of your written appeal statement to us. The statement should contain all necessary evidence to enable the Inspector to make a decision on the appeal. Any interested parties also have the opportunity to submit comments to us within this period. After the 6 week deadline has elapsed we will cross copy your statements.

16. Within 9 weeks of the start date, you and the LA can comment on each others statements, and any other representations which were received within the six week deadline.

Written Representations

17. Appeals which are dealt with by way of a written exchange followed by a site inspection are done so in the spirit of the Town and Country Planning (Appeals)(Written Representations Procedure)(England) Regulations 2000, SI 2000 No 1628.

18. If you and the LA agree to the written procedure we will contact you as early as possible to make arrangements for the site visit.

19. You and the LA will be given an opportunity to accompany the Inspector during the site visit. It is normal practice for the Inspector to be accompanied by a representative of both parties in order to gain access to the site and for assistance in identifying the hedgerow in question. However, the Inspector will not allow any discussion about the merits of the case and will restrict questions to the physical features of the hedgerow itself. All evidence must be given in the statements of case (see paragraph 15 above):
neither you nor the LA will be allowed to submit further representations on the day.

Hearings

20. Although the majority of hedgerow appeals are suitable for the written procedure, you and the LA have a right to be heard by an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State. Hearings allow the issues to be aired informally through a discussion led by the Inspector. Usually the Inspector will close the hearing before conducting an accompanied site visit but, where appropriate, he/she may decide to adjourn the hearing to the site to allow for the discussion to continue there. The timetable for the submission of written statements is the
same as that used for written representations. Arrangements for the site visit will be made at the hearing.

21. We may ask the LA to post notice of hearings locally and on site. Local residents and other interested people are allowed to attend hearings and may speak, at the discretion of the Inspector. We may also give notice of hearings on our web site.

22. Hearings are conducted in the spirit of the Town and Country Planning (Hearing Procedure) (England) Rules 2000, SI 2000 No 1626.

Inquiries

23. In exceptional circumstances a local inquiry may be held. This may be necessary when cross-examination is needed or when there are large numbers of submissions or we are aware of a considerable amount of public interest. Either party may request a local inquiry or the Secretary of State may decide that an inquiry is necessary. The timetable for the submission of statements is the same as that for written representations. You and the LA will be asked to provide a statement of common ground and also proofs of evidence if expert witnesses are to be called.

24. We may ask the LA to post notice of an inquiry in the locality where the hedge is situated and on site. Local residents and other interested people are allowed to attend an inquiry and may speak, at the discretion of the Inspector. We may also give notice of an inquiry on our web site.

25. Inquiries are conducted in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Determination by Inspectors)(England) Rules 2000, SI 2000 No 1625.

Recovery

26. In very exceptional circumstances (for example, where a significant point of law or Government policy is raised), appeals may be recovered for decision by the Secretary of State. In these cases, inquiries will follow in the spirit of the Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure)(England) Rules 2000, SI 2000 No 1624.

Decisions on Appeals

27. Following the site visit, hearing or inquiry, the Inspector will consider all the evidence and his/her findings during the site visit before reaching a decision. The decision will contain reasons and will be in writing. The Inspector may allow the appeal and quash the LA’s notice, either in whole or in part, or modify it. Alternatively, the Inspector may dismiss the appeal, or part of it, leaving the Notice to stand either in whole or in part. A copy of the decision will be sent to you, the LA, interested parties and may also be posted on our web site.

28. In cases where the Secretary of State has decided to determine the appeal herself (see Paragraph 26), the Inspector will write a report which will be considered by the Secretary of State, a copy of which will be issued with the Secretary of State’s decision.

29. Additional printed copies of decisions are available at a small charge. These may be obtained from:

The Planning Inspectorate,
Decision Letter Library,
Room 3/15B Eagle Wing,
Temple Quay House,
2 The Square, Temple Quay,
Bristol, BS1 6PN

Tel: 0117 372 8759

Withdrawal of an Appeal

30. An appeal may be withdrawn at any time as long as notification is made to the Planning Inspectorate in writing. You should also copy your letter to the LA, stating you have done so on your letter to us. We will then confirm the withdrawal to the parties. If the appeal is withdrawn, the Retention Notice/Replacement Notice will still stand.

Costs

31. Costs may be awarded to either party in cases dealt with by way of a hearing or local inquiry. An application for costs should be made to the Inspector at the hearing or inquiry and can be awarded on the grounds that the other party has behaved unreasonably and has caused the party seeking costs to incur unnecessary or wasted expense (DOE Circular 8/93 explains the rules relating to the award of costs in more detail).

32. An application for costs may be submitted to the Inspectorate if the hearing or inquiry is cancelled as a result of a late withdrawal of the appeal. This type of application should be forwarded to the:

Planning Inspectorate
Costs Section
Room 3/27 Hawk Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol BS1 6PN

Complaints about the Decision

33. If you have any complaints about the decision or the way we have handled your appeal please write to:

The Planning Inspectorate
Quality Assurance Unit
4/09 Kite Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6PN

phone: 0117-372 8252
fax: 0117-372 8139

e-mail: complaints@pins.gsi.gov.uk

34. The Quality Assurance Unit will reply to you, or they will ask someone else within the Inspectorate to reply if they have specialist knowledge of the issues raised. They will investigate your complaint and you can expect a full reply within 3 weeks. However, the Inspectorate cannot reconsider your appeal if the decision has already been issued. The only circumstances under which we will be able to reconsider your appeal is if you successfully challenge the decision in the High Court.

Data Protection and Privacy in the Planning Inspectorate

35. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 we have a legal duty to inform you about and protect any information we collect from you. When considering an appeal, the Inspector (or the Secretary of State) receives a variety of personal information. This information comes from a number of sources including the appeal form and any documentation of support or objection.

36. In accordance with current statutory obligations most of the documentation received will be made accessible to the public. Nevertheless, the Planning Inspectorate recognises the importance of the privacy of individuals. This section sets out what information we collect and how it will be used.

Data Protection

37. The Planning Inspectorate has put in place procedures to ensure that it complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 when handling your personal information. In particular we will:

only use your personal information for the purpose of dealing with and considering the relevant appeal;
only hold your personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary. For completed appeals this is usually 12 months and in the case of challenges, these are held for 3 years.

We will retain a copy of the Inspector’s decision indefinitely. It may be that personal information could form part of the Inspector’s decision.

Who has access to your personal information?

38. The appeal papers will be open for inspection at specified locations and anyone can inspect and take copies of them. Any person entitled to be notified of the decision in an inquiry case has a legal right to apply to inspect the listed documents, photographs and plans within 6 weeks of the date of decision. Other requests to see the appeal documents will not normally be refused. In addition, information received may be placed on our web site and will be accessible worldwide by anyone - including individuals or organisations who have no direct interest in the particular appeal.

What information do we hold?

39. When dealing with a high hedges appeal we could receive personal information about you from a number of parties, including yourself, the Local Authority or other parties interested in the appeal. The information we receive is varied but may include your name, address and occupation, and information relating to your opinions or intentions in respect of an appeal.

What steps should you take?

Only provide personal information if you are happy for it to be placed in the public domain;
do not include personal information about another third party (including family members) unless you have told the individual concerned and they are happy for you to send it;
tell us as soon as possible if any of the personal information you have provided should change.

The data controller

40. The data controller (the organisation responsible for dealing with personal information) is the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Your rights to see personal information

41. We have to provide you with a readable copy of the personal data that we keep about you within 40 days. There is a statutory charge of £10. Evidence of proof of your identity will be required before information is released. It is both in our interest and yours to hold accurate data. If the data we hold is inaccurate in any way, then without charge and where appropriate, you may have the data:

erased
rectified or amended
completed.

For any enquiry or concern about our privacy policy, or to request access to your personal data contact our Data Manager:

Data Manager
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 3/16 Eagle Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Bristol , BS1 6PN

tel: 0117 372 8922

e-mail: complaints@pins.gsi.gov.uk

Related information about our privacy policy is available on our web site at

http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk at the section marked “Privacy Statement”.

Complaints about access to personal information

We aim to ensure that we have resolved any matters satisfactorily, however if you are not satisfied with our response you may contact:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Switchboard: 01625 545 700
Fax:01625 524 510
DX: 20819 Wilmslow

Web site: http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/

E-mail: mail@dataprotection.gov.uk

The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 - A Guide to the Law and Good Practice - Part 1 in PDF 853KB
The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 - A Guide to the Law and Good Practice - Part 2 in PDF 689KB
The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 - A Guide to the Law and Good Practice - Part 3 in PDF 455KB

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