A TAVISTOCK resident is urging Devon County Council’s highways team to think carefully about cutting certain areas of hedgerows in order to protect rare wildflowers which grow on Dartmoor.

Sarah Bridger, a keen gardener and horticulture enthusiast, said there was a particular stretch of the A386 approaching Yelverton where hedgerows had been cut significantly and came at the cost of losing early purple orchids, which were seen and enjoyed by locals and people passing through.

Sarah said: ‘I don’t think there’s any need to cut so much into the hedgeline. There used to be the most beautiful patch of early purple orchids which are rare to see or find on the moors, unlike marsh or pyramid orchids.

‘These flowers aren’t being given a chance to seed which is such a shame.’

Sarah said hedgerow cutting to this extent occurred a few year ago, prompting her to contact authorities and request only the areas round roadsigns be cut when needed. She added: ‘I spoke with someone from the county council who deals with highways a few years back because the same thing happened then and he instructed contractors employed to only cut what was necessary around the sign to prevent growth obscuring it. It’s happening again now and not one flower is left.

‘I come from Sussex originally where they cut road edges all the time and the only thing growing was bracken and hogweed — they cut everything else so it couldn’t seed.

‘I came to Devon, drove round the roads and thought it looked beautiful but now such drastic cutting has occurred again. What wildflowers can you see on that road? What is the point of cutting so much extra hedgerow? Most of these precious wildflowers are annuals and if they’re cut all the time they’ll die.’

In June 2020, South Tawton ward borough councillor Lynn Daniel launched a petition calling on Devon County Council to ‘issue strong environmental guidance for all town and parishes and landowners to stop the constant mowing, strimming, flailing and pesticide spraying’ hoping to cut down the number of times verges were mown to preserve wildlife which lives in them.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: ‘Roadside verges are sanctuaries for wildflowers, pollinating insects, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals and that’s why it is our policy only cut grass on road verges for safety reasons and to ensure visibility for road users.

‘The cut shown for this area concerned is for visibility reasons in advance of the brown tourism sign, and the area cut is consistent with our rural network policy, approximately 10 metres in front of the sign and 0.5 metres around the sign.’