Aggregate Industries' plans to quarry Straitgate Farm would see extensive distances of ancient hedgerows up to 4m wide grubbed up. Little compensation has been put in place to offer alternative habitat for bats and dormice.
The People’s Trust for Endangered Species has strongly objected to AI's plans, saying:
An extensive amount of important hedgerow will be destroyed. This is completely irreversible. The hedgerows are present on maps dating from the turn of the 20th century (Appendix 1) and are likely to have existed for centuries before this. Compensation planting (for that is what replanting is – not mitigation as suggested) for losses of irreplaceable habitat should be at a ratio in the region of 30 – 1. Proposed replanting and that already done falls far short of this.
The PTES has recently been tweeting on the importance of hedgerows, and has started the Great British Hedgerow Survey:
This week we'll be highlighting a very important habitat- #HEDGEROWS! One study counted 2070 species in one 85 metre stretch! #HealthyHedgerows are a valuable part of our landscape and we shouldn't underestimate them! 🐝🦇🌳🦋🌿 https://t.co/R0YurHhHD1 📸A Bryant pic.twitter.com/bhZ1w4He86— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 19, 2019
Hedgerow trees are fantastic for wildlife. Old trees are valuable as their rot holes & dead wood are perfect roost sites for birds and bats & also provide the increasingly rare habitat needed for an incredible array of rare invertebrates🌿#HealthyHedgerows https://t.co/4ZuvU0d4TJ pic.twitter.com/ksPmDS1HIQ— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 30, 2019
#Hedgerows are home to animals and provide habitat connection corridors meaning that #wildlife can move around the landscape. However, they also deliver a huge number of benefits to #farmland, beyond that of a #field boundary...🦋🌿💧 #HealthyHedgerowshttps://t.co/UE5vABKM6g pic.twitter.com/NClolgVHdU— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 30, 2019
The more plant species found in a hedge, the greater the number of other species the hedge can support. How a #hedgerow is being managed affects the abundance of food it can supply, regardless of the plant species within it #HealthyHedgerows https://t.co/FNLe2X8w1E— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 29, 2019
📹 @soulcow pic.twitter.com/an3yPIWiHH
Anyone can take part in the Great British Hedgerow Survey! Discover the condition of the hedgerows near you and learn how to manage them for connectivity, structure and wildlife. For more information or to take part, visit the website: https://t.co/xdjcZGJBE2 🌿#HealthyHedgerows pic.twitter.com/AYKCLFHTYc— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 27, 2019
70% of the UK is agricultural land & #hedgerows offer the safest route for wildlife to travel across farmland. But hedgerows are becoming fragmented. As a result we're seeing a decline in species that depend on them such as hedgehogs, bats & hazel dormice: https://t.co/bFnMbBt46l pic.twitter.com/D4q6gyYZqO— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 25, 2019
Did you know #HealthyHedgerows can be super-highways for dormice? They are a vital link between pockets of woodlands that are too small to support a healthy dormouse population on their own. A well connected hedge network can be life saving! https://t.co/R0YurHhHD1 📷Ruud Foppen pic.twitter.com/WZbCh9CsA0— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 20, 2019
#Hedgerows are very important for #bats 🦇 Bats feed along the hedges, using them as a key source for insects, scooping up spiders, beetles and small flies. #Barbastelles switch up their foraging throughout the year and rely on hedgerows for moths in the summer 📸I Davidson-Watts pic.twitter.com/F7bvaRH8Q4— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 19, 2019
We've seem a 64% decline of dormouse occurrence in hedgerows since the late 1970s. Without proper management, hedgerows become redundant to most wildlife 😢 Follow #HealthyHedgerows this week to find out how you can help with our new conservation project https://t.co/OmrftoNZUi pic.twitter.com/43tpT75ZhJ— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 20, 2019
Dormice need #HealthyHedgerows year-round. They'll feed on flowers early in the year, insects and ash keys over the summer, then berries and nuts later in the year. So a wide mix of species is needed in a hedgerow if they are to survive there. https://t.co/R0YurHhHD1 pic.twitter.com/Jly0GZ7v1J— People's Trust for Endangered Species (@PTES) August 20, 2019
