Hedgerows – a huge success for CPRE’s campaign

Today the government published its long-awaited environmental improvement plan and it includes a commitment to plant 30,000 miles of hedgerows a year by 2037 – and 45,000-miles of hedgerows a year by 2050.

This is the first time the government has set a target for more hedgerows, and about time too! These leafy legends line our countryside, providing refuge to countless species of our favourite wildlife, thanklessly absorbing carbon day in and day out. But they’ve been given a raw deal, which is why we’ve lost half our hedgerows in the past seventy years.

That’s why today is a massive campaign win for hedgerows – and it’s because of members and supporters of CPRE, including many in Wiltshire, we’ve taken this huge step forward.

Since July 2021, we’ve made hedgerows a campaign priority for CPRE, championing our bushy buddies loud and clear in parliament – with thousands signing our petition, writing to your MP, and sharing the plight of hedgerows with friends and family. And all of our hard work has paid off.

A campaign victory like this doesn’t happen often – and thanks to our members and supporters, we’ve exceeded expectations. We still need to dig through the details and ensure the funding is in place to meet this target, but with this announcement the government seems to have gone beyond our ask of restoring 40% of the hedgerow network by 2050. That’s a huge win.

Of course, the proof will indeed be in the proverbial pudding, and we’ll need to keep a close eye to ensure that planting begins as soon as possible. We’re not going to let this become just another target pushed into the long grass (or hedge!).

But for now, we have cause to celebrate a huge milestone.