[Closed] 'Netting' hedgerows - Petition inside, please read and sign if you'd like to

This is total bollocks.

Im struggling to know where to start. It’s a criminal offence to disturb a nesting bird without a licence. It’s also harmful to the birds. You net hedges to stop birds nesting so as to stay lawful and prevent birds wasting energy with failed broods.

nets are there to prevent birds nesting in hedgerows that already planned for removal. A developer is not entitled to net hedges and then claim ‘there are no birds therefore I can remove the hedge’.

A developer is not entitled to

interesting. do you mean it's illegal for them to do so ?

Planning law is clear, a developer will need to apply for a scoping request, this will include baseline information about air quality, noise, protected species, habitat etc. They can’t ‘sterilise’ an area to produce a false baseline. I have no idea if it’s illegal or not but it’s in contravention of the planning regs.

mandatory environmental gain on all developments is in consultation at the moment so they would have to ‘over mitigate’ for habitat loss.

*I’m sure small builders flout the regs all the time, I’m talking about developers going through the system as designed.

Why would you want to stop birds nesting anyway? You'd have to be a complete and utter **** to want to do that.

Would be awful if people tampered with the nets

Why would you want to stop birds nesting anyway? You’d have to be a complete and utter **** to want to do that.

Because as said above if you are going to remove the hedge in spring it's better the birds nest elsewhere.

Done.
I something heard on this on the radio t’other week.
The cheeky builder in question was putting the net up before planning permission had been granted so that they weren’t delayed “when it was”. Grr.
Tossers

More than one way to keep those pesky birds out: Anti-pigeon spikes placed on tree branches

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42409884

We're planting more hedges and putting up bird boxes and bug houses. Doing our little bit to counter these selfish idiots

Would be awful if people tampered with the nets

They are here: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17512134.campaigners-protest-in-darlington-after-finding-dead-sparrow/

Odd, I mentioned the netting of tress etc to stop birds nesting before developments start to a couple of friends in Scottish Natural Heritage and they has no issue with it. But then one of the guys also has no issue with fox hunting or introducing mixie to get rid if rabbits.

In other illegal bird bothering news some interest research and plausible explanation for the higher incidence of hen harrier disappearances on grouse moors.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/19/seven-in-10-hen-harriers-in-uk-study-likely-illegally-killed

I'm a member of our local RSPB group.
We fought to stop Tesco netting the top of a store to stop Swallows nesting.

Have signed the petition.

Regarding the hen harrier killings, until we get a proper prosecution the people doing away with these glorious birds will just keep on poisoning.

Signed. Disgusting practice. Cheers...

There was a report on the local BBC news a little while ago about a pair of hen harriers that had been seen around a local nature reserve, and they’d suddenly disappeared. When they showed film of the area it was a place I’m very, very familiar with, as there are a pair of ravens nest there every year on a big radio mast.
I’ve not heard anything further about it though. This is in North Wiltshire, just outside of Calne.
Yeah, here’s a report, the bird was called Vulcan, and carried a satellite tag. I thought it was a pair, but it was a single Male.
https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Satellite_tagged_Hen_Harrier_disappears_near_proposed_reintroduction_site_in_Wiltshire.aspx?s_id=432268032&applefix=true

Thanks for signing it!

Netting hedges that are due for removal makes perfect sense (unless there is a suitable alternative). There'll always be rogues who misuse them, but a ban on netting hedges will require an alternative. I would guess more birds die getting trapped in the net around 'fat ball' feeders, when the misguided put them in the garden feeder with first removing the netting.

Signed.

plausible explanation for the higher incidence of hen harrier disappearances on grouse moors.

Its been known for a long time that the grouse moors are a killing zone for harriers as well as grouse. The latest research adds academic weight to it and even more examples but isnt a surprise.
Raptor persecution UK is a good, although often depressing, site keeping an eye on some of the protectors of the countrysides.

Managed to sign the petition once the site stayed up for more than a minute.

Because as said above if you are going to remove the hedge in spring it’s better the birds nest elsewhere.

The developer should remove the hedge in autumn/winter. If they can't be bothered to do that they should delay progress on the project until after the nesting season.

 

Signed ages ago.

Didn’t developers just wait until the autumn to remove the hedge? Is the world turning so fast we can’t even wait for autumn to grub out hedges?

Why can’t we design the existing features such as hedges into these developments?

I for on3 would prefer to live on an estate with some biodiversity within it.

I don't get the objections to netting either. I'm bitterly opposed to new developments which will all inevitably destroy the habitat for *something*. But once the decision has been made to destroy the habitat preventing birds nesting in the habitat that's about to be lost strikes me as no worse than destroying the habitat.

I was hoping someone would enlighten me, but I don't think they will.

The consequence of any ban will be that hedges and trees get removed years before development, and any site that might want to expand won't plant any.

Same goes for ponds where GCN might be about, plenty of schools have been caught out when they want to do works when their little wildfire pond suddenly get designated as GCN habitat.

Have signed, also passed on to a few other folk

I don't see many already established hedges being planted to replace the ones being removed. Even new hedges are few & far between, so what happens when the hedges are gone? Do birds have to put nesting on hold till any new nesting sites are established enough to provide what they need?
We only need houses because there's more people to house, we need less people, not less hedges.

we need less people, not less hedges.

+1

As Mr PictonRoad said a month ago the purpose of netting trees and hedges is not to prevent birds nesting and then say, "look, no birds" so that they can get planning permission to concrete the area over. It is so that work can proceed as agreed, even during the nesting season.

Furthermore in many if not most cases there is no intention to remove the hedges or trees, otherwise they could have simply removed them at the time they netted them. It is so that adjacent building activity doesn't disturb the birds. I'm not suggesting the builders give a toss about the birds but they need to keep within the law.

I'd add that I don't approve of netting. Better to wait until the nesting season is over to do the work.

It's a similar problem to this netting in Norfolk, where the Council know they want to disturb the nesting site later in the year, so they try to stop the birds nesting in the first place. I actually think this action is effectively disturbing the wildlife and therefore is in contravention to the law (Wildlife Act 1981) already. Anyway, some gains have been made in the type of netting and its placement. It's a fine balance but IMO there should be no netting and the works should be carried out in winter, even if that means delaying a build or whatever.

Furthermore in many if not most cases there is no intention to remove the hedges or trees, otherwise they could have simply removed them at the time they netted them. It is so that adjacent building activity doesn’t disturb the birds.

This bit completely passed me by. I'm really struggling to see the problem. Of all the disaster development brings us depriving birds of one nest site for one spring seems utterly benign. Probably, leading to preservation of hedges in cases where it might be simpler to chainsaw them.

It's heartening to see that people are taking the time to engage with environmental issues. I'd agree though that in the case of the netting, the removal of this option (which is temporary, reversible habitat loss) will result in hedgerows and trees being destroyed outside the bird breeding season to eliminate the risk of delays to construction during the breeding season (which is permanent habitat loss). It will also lead to developers also considering the planting of trees and/or hedgerows as a higher risk, leading to less of this occurring in future.