SECTION 3.0 - Durham County Council

Intrusive Igneous rocks, Methamorphic rocks, mineral veins and more recent
deposits laid down in the Quaternary
period.
• Hedgerows are protected by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997.
Hedgerows play an important role on farms; helping to prevent soil erosion and
water run-off, providing shelter, controling livestock and protecting crops from the
wind. They also provide an important habitat for wildlife and are often seen as
defining character of the English landscape. Under the regulations, it is against the
law to remove or destroy certain hedgerows without permission from the local
planning authority. Permission is required before removing hedges that are at least
20 metres in length, over 30 years old and contain certain species of plant. The
local planning authority assesses the importance of the hedgerow using criteria set
out in the regulations. Hedgerows in areas covered by a Historic Landscape
Characterisation are often protected on the basis of historic importance and their
wildlife value.
In 1998, the Government published a Review of the Hedgerow Regulations. The
Review made a number of recommendations on how the Regulations might be
strengthened, particuarly on how the criteria defining 'important' hedgerows could
be improved and simplified. The Review was followed by a number of surveys, a
Select Committee report to the Government and a survey of local planning
authorities. DEFRA launched a public consultation exercise on the protection of
countryside boundary features and amendment of the Hedgerows Regulations in
January 2003.
• Protection of Badgers Act 1992
The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 consolidates and improved previous
legislation
(including the Badgers (Further Protection) Act 1991).
Under the act it is
an offence to kill, injure or take a badger, or to damage or interfere with a sett
unless a license is obtained from a statutory authority. A badger sett is defined in
law as any structure or place which displays signs of current use by a badger.
• Urban and Rural White Paper
County
Durham contains a mixture of urban and rural green spaces. As such the
policy
context which will shape the Core Strategy includes the
Link with
recommendations laid down in both the Urban White Paper, ‘Our Open Space,
Towns
and Cities: the future’, and the Rural White Paper, ‘A Fair Recreation,
Deal for Rural England’. The former placed parks, play areas and Leisure and
open spaces at the heart of the ‘urban renaissance’, with
Play
Technical
Paper (No.5)
recommendations for local authorities, including an aim to achieve the
national ‘Green Flag’ status for managing parks and spaces. The
latter aims to revitalise rural services and to enhance the rural economy,
environmental
protection and local democracy whilst tackling social exclusion.
Measures to make access to the countryside more inclusive along with targets for
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