Hedge laying along Southill solar

Thu 27 Mar, 23:24 (last edited on Thu 27 Mar, 23:25)

Thanks for your comments Mark and all: as the person who put in the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) application and guided it through the various stages of delivery, I have to say that I have a slightly more nuanced view. We chose to lay such long stretches as both ends of the hedgerow were dominated by elms that were rapidly reaching the stage where they would succumb to disease and create a roadside hazard, so it was the responsible thing to do. And we are indeed getting new growth as expected and it will thicken up and produce a wonderful full hedge in time.

However, the loss (hopefully not permanently)  of a lot of the smaller shrubs such as spindle and elder which happened in satisfying the conditions of the FiPL grant (it has to be Midland Hedgelaying to qualify and this meant a great deal of thinning out and laying according to a rather rigid pattern) was heartbreaking for me as these are such good bird and insect resources. 

We have made the best of it in creating extensive dead hedges inside the hedgeline, so making a lot more habitat for wildlife there. Nevertheless, when these areas have grown up and we look at laying other parts of the hedges on site, I will argue against any more Midland hedge laying,  but instead do more 'rough hedgelaying', where less material is removed but the remaining stems are woven without many stakes and with no binders: it will retain more of the original material and won't look so 'neat and tidy' but then nature does like a messy patch rather than a manicured one, whatever the government/DEFRA might like to incentivise! 

It is also likely to cost a lot less to do and so continue the Southill ethos of being a pioneer in truly sustainable biodiversity regeneration and sharing the learning from our efforts.

Thu 27 Mar, 21:00

I love it too and wish more of our hedgerows could be set this way rather than the butcher haircuts they normally get! Great job Southill Solar and friends

Wed 26 Mar, 20:42

Looks really good and keeping traditions alive . The same is happening on the road to Shipston on Stour . 

Wed 26 Mar, 15:30

It is just gorgeous to look at. I love it.

Tue 25 Mar, 20:40

Thank you very much Mark for your kind and supportive comments. The list of thanks for getting this work done is too long to mention here, but does include Cotswolds National Landscapes who encouraged us to apply for a grant to cover a significant portion of the cost.

Tue 25 Mar, 17:46 (last edited on Tue 25 Mar, 17:47)

I've been meaning to drop a line to thank the people at Southill for enabling the hedge laying. I pass it each time I'm into Witney and I'm really impressed by their work.

The majority of hedges are simply chopped back and they gradually become less effective as barriers. I can understand why - hedge laying is costly and time consuming.  

Hedge laying is also a skill, and it's really great to see these traditional skills being encouraged.

I can see more of the hedge being renewed in this way, the first section is already filling out.  

Charlbury is one of the very few places I've seen undertake this work done, and it's really great to see.