Cornish hedges crumble after roads agency ‘bypass experts’

CORNISH hedges, a rock-solid amalgam of dry-stone wall and hedgerow, should last for centuries if built properly. Yet a new stretch of the traditional walling built for the A30 upgrade is already collapsing after a little rain.

A nine-mile portion of the road is being upgraded by National Highways, which chose to have the route lined by eight miles of Cornish hedges.

However, the new works are crumbling in the rain, with a local expert telling The Daily Telegraph that outsiders with no knowledge of the ancient building technique, dating back three millennia, had been hired to do the work.

A well-constructed Cornish hedge, which is a stone-faced earth banking with trees growing along the top, should be wider at the base than it is at the top and around 5ft high.

The hedges on the A30 are being built by Costain on behalf of National Highways. The company told a local newspaper that it was working to guidelines from the Guild of Cornish Hedge Builders.

However, members of the guild said no one from their organisation had been involved in the project. Indeed, The Telegraph understands the guild was asked to inspect the failed hedges and report on what had gone wrong.

One hedge builder with decades of experience, who asked not to be named, said Costain had relied on non-local workers, including staff from eastern Europe, and claimed it was because experts would have cost more.

“Costain didn’t do their homework,” he said. “It’s just the way they’ve been built – they have no clue what they’re doing. It’s a very difficult thing to do.

“Everybody wants beautiful Cornish hedges but nobody wants to pay for them,” he added.

National Highways admitted to local media that there had been problems with the project but insisted that they would all be rectified. Costain was approached for comment.