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Planting a bare-root hedge in Gravesend: the legal checks before you start, and what to plant on clay

Late October is when bare-root hedging stock becomes available from nurseries, and it is when I start getting calls from Gravesend and Northfleet homeowners who want a new hedge planted before spring. The practical advice on bare-root planting is straightforward. The legal checks that shape when you can start, and what you need to do first if anything is already growing on the site, are less obvious, and three of them catch people out every year.

What the law says before any ground is cleared or stock ordered

The first question is not what to plant or how to plant it. It is whether you can legally clear the site, and when. Three pieces of legislation apply before a spade goes in or a delivery arrives.

1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1: the nesting-season constraint on site clearance

Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it a criminal offence to intentionally kill, injure or take a wild bird, or to intentionally damage or destroy an active nest. This applies to site clearance as much as it does to hedge cutting. If the ground you are preparing for a new hedge has any existing scrub, grass, rough vegetation or low shrubby growth, clearing it between 1 March and 31 August risks disturbing birds that may be nesting in or at ground level in that vegetation. The Act sets no calendar dates; the usual lower-risk window for clearing a site is 1 September to 28 February.

The bare-root planting season runs from late October to late March, when deciduous stock is dormant and roots establish before top growth resumes. This window sits almost entirely within the lower-risk period for site preparation. The practical implication: plan clearance for September to November, order stock for November to February delivery, and plant in November through March. Do not start clearing in late August "to be ready", since the nesting season can run to the end of August and some species into September.

2. TPO consent and section 211 notice: if anything existing needs removing first

If the site where you want to plant already has any mature shrubs or trees that need clearing, two further checks apply before that removal work starts.

Under sections 198–214 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, any tree subject to a Tree Preservation Order cannot be felled, lopped, topped or wilfully damaged without written consent from Gravesham Borough Council. This applies regardless of your reason for the removal: wanting to replace a tree with a hedge does not exempt you from the TPO regime. Check Gravesham's online interactive planning map for any TPO on existing vegetation before clearing starts. An application for consent must be submitted and approved before any work on a protected tree.

Under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, any tree in a conservation area with a stem diameter exceeding 75mm measured at 1.5 metres from ground level requires six weeks' written notice to Gravesham Borough Council before it is cut down, uprooted, topped, lopped or wilfully damaged. Gravesham has 23 designated conservation areas. If your site is in one, check whether any existing shrub or tree meets the 75mm threshold before clearing. The council can use the six-week notice period to decide whether to make a TPO.

3. Hedgerow Regulations 1997: removal of an existing hedgerow before replanting

The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/1160) govern the removal of qualifying rural hedgerows, not new planting. Planting a new hedge requires no notification under these regulations. However, if you are replacing a hedge by first removing a qualifying existing hedgerow on the site, the removal stage requires a written 42-day notification to Gravesham Borough Council before any removal starts.

A protected hedgerow under the regulations is one more than 20 metres long (or shorter but meeting another hedgerow at each end) on or next to farmland, forestry, horse-keeping land, common land and similar land types. A hedge in, or marking the boundary of, a private garden is not covered, and age only decides whether a protected hedgerow is "important". For a garden hedge within the curtilage of a house in Gravesend or Northfleet, the Hedgerow Regulations do not apply. For rural land in the Gravesham villages (Higham, Chalk, Shorne, Cobham, Meopham), the qualifying test should be assumed to apply until confirmed otherwise. Removing a qualifying hedgerow without notification, or before the 42-day period expires, carries a risk of an unlimited fine and a replacement notice requiring you to replant.

The practical upshot: if you are starting from bare ground, or replacing a garden hedge that does not qualify under the regulations, no Hedgerow Regulations step is needed. If you are grubbing out a rural field-boundary hedgerow to replant, submit the notification first and do not start the removal until the 42 days have elapsed or the council has confirmed it has no objection.

Seven steps: from legal checks to an established hedge on Gravesham clay

Step 1: confirm TPO and conservation area status before touching anything on the site

Search the Gravesham Borough Council planning map for Tree Preservation Orders on or near the site. If the site is within one of Gravesham's 23 conservation areas, identify whether any existing vegetation meets the 75mm diameter threshold that triggers the section 211 six-week notice. Do both checks before any clearing work is planned or contracted.

Step 2: if replacing a rural hedgerow, submit the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 notification to Gravesham Borough Council

If the removal stage is caught by the Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (see above), the written 42-day notification to Gravesham Borough Council must be submitted and the waiting period must elapse before any removal starts. The notification form is available from Gravesham Borough Council's planning department. Confirm the current submission process directly with the council, as procedures may change.

Step 3: complete all site clearance between 1 September and 28 February

Remove existing vegetation, scrub and debris within the legal window. On heavy clay, use this period to assess drainage: standing water after autumn rain is common on Gravesend's clay soils, and a site that drains poorly will benefit from improvement before planting. Do not work heavily on the clay when it is waterlogged, as compaction will damage structure and slow establishment.

Step 4: order bare-root stock for delivery from late October onward

Bare-root hedging is lifted and dispatched by nurseries when deciduous plants enter dormancy, typically from late October to late March or early April depending on the species and the season's weather. For Gravesham's heavy clay, ordering native mixed-species stock for November or December delivery is the standard approach: the ground is workable, soil temperature is still above freezing in most years, and roots have the full winter to establish before spring growth begins.

If delivery arrives before the site is ready, heel the bare roots into a temporary trench of moist compost or well-drained soil. Do not leave bare roots exposed or in dry conditions for more than a day or two.

Step 5: prepare the ground for clay soils

Standard bare-root planting guidance assumes a reasonably free-draining loam. Many Gravesend and Northfleet gardens have heavy clay soil: dense, slow-draining and prone to surface compaction. Two adjustments from the standard approach:

• Loosen compacted subsoil along the planting line with a fork, without inverting the horizons, so that water can drain away from the roots. Take care not to dig a deep hole that fills with water like a sump.
• Incorporate organic matter (well-rotted compost or leaf mould) at a ratio of roughly one part organic material to three parts clay along the planting strip. Avoid peat-based products. Organic matter improves drainage, feeds soil life, and prevents the clay from binding tightly around new roots.

Do not try to plant into waterlogged clay: wait for a drier spell, even if it means delaying the planting into January or February rather than November. A healthy February planting on a well-prepared dry strip outperforms a November planting forced into wet clay by weeks.

Step 6: plant at the right spacing and depth

For a formal barrier or garden boundary hedge, plant at three to five plants per metre in a staggered double row, with rows 30cm apart and plants alternating across the rows. For an informal wildlife hedge, two to three plants per metre in a single row is sufficient. Do not plant closer than the species' mature spread will allow: hawthorn at three per metre is dense enough to close in within two seasons.

Plant at the same depth the plant was grown in the nursery: look for the soil mark on the stem as the guide. The base of the stem should sit at ground level, not proud of it and not buried into the stem itself. Firm clay back around the roots with your heel rather than compacting it from above with a tool. Water in well immediately after planting, even in wet weather.

Step 7: first-year aftercare

The first spring and summer are the period of highest mortality risk for bare-root hedging. Water thoroughly during dry spells from April through September: hedging planted in November will have had only a few months to extend its root system before summer droughts arrive. Apply a 100mm layer of bark mulch or well-rotted compost along the planting strip, keeping it clear of the stems, to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Do not apply a top cut in year 1: letting the plants reach their natural height before the first clip builds root strength and crown structure.

Species for Gravesham's clay

The most reliable choices for Gravesend's dense clay soil are all native species that have grown on Thames-side soils for centuries. A fuller comparison of species suitability, growth rate and clay tolerance is in the separate guide to hedge species for clay soils. The short version for a new planting:

• Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna): the standard backbone of any mixed native hedge on clay. Tolerates waterlogging, clips tightly and establishes fast.
• Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa): tougher still, very thorny, excellent for a stock-proof or security barrier. Spreads by suckering on clay, so less suitable for narrow beds.
• Field maple (Acer campestre): the best native for formal clipped hedges on clay. Yellow autumn colour, accepts repeat cutting without die-back.
• Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus): outstanding clay tolerance, holds its dead leaves through winter (marcescent), which maintains privacy and structure year-round after establishment.
• Dog rose (Rosa canina): scrambling and informal, best mixed with stronger species rather than planted alone. High wildlife value.

For a formal boundary hedge on clay, a three-way mix of hawthorn, field maple and hornbeam in roughly equal proportions gives a dense, stable structure that performs well from year two onward. For an informal wildlife hedge, add dog rose and a few blackthorn to that mix.

What Gravesend's position on the Thames estuary changes

Gardens close to the Thames can be more exposed to wind off the estuary, and clay ground can shift from compacted summer-hard soil to standing winter water within a few days. The species choices above are all tolerant of this. What they are not tolerant of is being planted too deep in wet clay, left without aftercare through the first summer, or exposed to full estuary winds in a single unprotected row. A new hedge on an exposed Gravesend boundary, particularly those facing east toward the estuary or north toward the Thames, benefits from a temporary windbreak of horticultural fleece or a plastic screen on the exposed side for the first winter. Remove it by March before birds begin nesting in the new growth.

Sources: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; Hedgerow Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/1160), regulations 3 and 6; Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 198–214 and section 211; Defra guidance "Countryside hedgerows: protection and management" (updated); Gravesham Borough Council conservation area and TPO registers.