Shropshire and regional Lib Dem Euro MP Phil Bennion met (Sat 12th Jan) villagers and councillors who are fighting a plan to grub up seven miles of hedges near Chirbury.
The regional MEP, who is also a farmer, met Cllr Heather Kidd and campaigners at Chirbury Post Office before traveling outside the village to view a nearby section of the threatened hedgerow himself. Local tenant farmers oppose the landlord’s plan.
The issue has prompted a storm of protest with objectors across the country including leading academics.
Among points made by objectors are:
Campaigners say the proposal – to use a loophole in the 1997 Hedgerow Regulations to remove seven miles of hedges to create a single giant prairie field – flies in the face of government policy and recent moves by the EU to encourage farmers to look after their hedges under stewardship payment schemes.