Severn Trent Water applied to Wrexham County Borough Council for planning consent to remove up to 23 sections of hedgerow as part of the Wrexham Ring Main – Cinders to Overton project.
The scheme involves upgrading and upsizing water main pipelines between Twining Hill in Erbistock and Wrexham Road in Little Overton, a route stretching across rural areas to the south and east of Wrexham. The works are intended to help ensure an adequate future supply of water.
According to planning documents for several applications submitted, each hedgerow section would be removed temporarily to allow safe access for excavation, trenching and the installation of construction equipment during open-cut pipeline works.
In each case, a minimum of six metres of hedgerow would be taken out to allow machinery and workers to pass safely, and to avoid damage to roots that could be caused by heavy equipment operating nearby.
The documents state that not all of the proposed removals may ultimately be required, as horizontal directional drilling will be used in some locations, allowing pipelines to be installed underground without disturbing surface features.
All of the hedgerows are described as being more than 20 metres long and adjacent to agricultural land, placing them within the scope of the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.
Historic mapping suggests the boundaries date back more than 30 years, meaning they could be classed as “important” hedgerows under the regulations.
Planning documents state that the removals would be carried out under strict environmental supervision. An experienced ecologist would be present as an Ecological Clerk of Works, carrying out checks before any hedgerow removal begins.
Once the pipeline work is finished, the affected hedgerows would be reinstated on a like-for-like basis, with replanting plans agreed with individual landowners. Temporary fencing would also be installed where hedgerows form boundaries with public land, roads, public rights of way or livestock fields.
Each of the applications has been approved by Wrexham Council’s planning officials this week.
