Tesco's change of heart over plans to chop Penwortham hedges

A century-old hedgerow on the new Penwortham Tesco site has been given a stay of execution.
By Catherine Musgrove
Published 19th Nov 2020, 07:00 GMT
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Last week residents living in Cop Lane launched a protest against plans to rip out the hedgerow on the Tesco site's boundary with Cop Lane, and replace it with lower-lying vegetation.

They said it fell into the Rawsthorne Road conservation area, and Tesco had vowed to retain "as much of the existing landscaping on the site as possible" in the planning application.

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The under-threat hedgerow on the Cop Lane boundary of the new Tesco store. Image from Google.The under-threat hedgerow on the Cop Lane boundary of the new Tesco store. Image from Google.
The under-threat hedgerow on the Cop Lane boundary of the new Tesco store. Image from Google.
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Supermarket bosses insisted they were acting within their planning permission, and that the hedgerow had "become unmanageable on the site from years of neglect".

But now the position doesn't seem as clear-cut, and residents are celebrating after workmen announced plans for this week's removal have been called off.

A spokesman for Tesco said: “Whenever we build a new store we are keen to work closely and positively with the local community and after listening to local residents close to our Penwortham site we have decided to postpone removal of the hedgerow while we consider other options to ensure we’re also keeping to planning guidelines.”

Related topics:Penwortham