Thank you for contacting me about the protection of hedgerows. I am aware of the CPRE’s latest report, Hedge fund: investing in hedgerows for climate, nature and the economy, and its findings on the economic benefits of investing in hedgerow restoration.

I believe we should actively intervene to restore habitats by creating nature corridors and restoring hedgerows, which are home to a wide variety of our native species.

In my view, we absolutely need biodiversity targets on rewilding, reforesting and our biodiversity targets, and they should be ambitious. It’s not good enough to only seek to halt the decline of nature. Instead we should aim to reverse it and to achieve dramatic inclines in species abundance.

Protecting biodiversity, halting the decline of nature and restoring habitats and wildlife should be priorities, not just because they are key to tackling the climate emergency, but also because it is intrinsically important to protect species and to ensure wildlife can be enjoyed by everyone.

Unfortunately, I am concerned the Government is not acting quickly enough and I would like to see bold and ambitious targets on this ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November.

For too long climate change has been viewed as tomorrow’s problem – an issue that will affect future generations. The climate crisis is real, and I think we need bolder, swifter action to decarbonise our economy and to protect vulnerable habitats. This is an ecological emergency, with our planet’s animals, birds and insect species in decline and their habitats under threat.

The Government states that it will publish a Green Paper before the end of the year on its approach to nature recovery in England. I would like to see the Government specify what it will do to encourage the creation of more hedgerows, and set clear targets and funding to achieve this.

I have written to the Secretary of State on your behalf to ascertain if they will commit to funding and implementing a plan to restore our nation’s hedgerows. Please see a copy of the letter below: