HEDGEROWS SURVEY
A comprehensive hedgerow survey was carried out from November-February
2005. The good news is that the general overview of the
hedges in Acton is good, compared to most nearby Parishes,
this is due to the low influx of developement in Acton in
the last 20 years, whereas other Parishes have exploded
with new houses on brown field sites.
However there is always room for improvement. Hedges near
the actual farms tend to be to a higher standard whereas
hedges in less accessible areas tend to be less looked after.
The North of the village tends to be the most cared for
with the South actually in decline. I suspect this trend
will increase as the South of the village is encroached
more by development.
46 hedges gained full marks on the survey, meaning they
are well kept and cut on time and cut well.
71 hedges gained average marks. Which means their ok, but
could be improved.
50 hedges were below standard, either they were cut poorly
or not at all or had been grubbed out.
There are complete maps now available for anyone to see
on request to the website, giving close details where the
good and bad areas of hedges are. A detailed list of every
species within the hedges and their standard is now lodged
at the biological records office Ipswich. Once these are
copied to disc I will have copies to put on this website.
The maps are to large and too detailed to include here at
present.
Many thanks to those volunteers who helped carry out the
survey.
Tree wardens attend regular training sessions with Babergh
district council and are available to give advice on tree
law and conservation. If you do have a tree problem, as
regard to planning, etc etc your first contact should be
your local Parish
Council.
The hedgerow survey is organised by-
Suffolk Coastal District Council e-mail wilf.garford@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
Or leave a message on the Acton Wildlife contact page.
The tree warden for Acton Parish is Alan Sawyer
Tree council
