BN6: Hedgerow coppicing

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the hedgerow coppicing item.

From:
Rural Payments Agency and Natural England
Published
2 April 2015
Last updated
3 February 2025 — See all updates
Grant type:
Capital item
Land use:
Biodiversity, Boundaries, Priority habitats and Uplands
Tiers or standalone items:
Higher Tier, Mid Tier and Standalone capital items
Funding (per unit per year):
Up to £100

This item is part of Capital Grants. You must read the Capital items: guidance for applicants and agreement holders to understand the rules and how to apply.

How much you’ll be paid 

£5.33 per metre (m). The payment rate is for the total length of boundary hedgerow being coppiced, not for each side of the boundary.

How this item benefits the environment

Coppicing lengths of hedgerow will rejuvenate with new growth to form a continuous hedgerow boundary.

This will:

  • provide new habitat and food sources for bees, pollinators and birds
  • help capture carbon

This item can help you protect, recover and improve biodiversity on your land.

Where you can use this item 

You can use this item where you have management control of both sides of the hedgerow with planted boundary lines of shrubs which are:

  • at least 20m long
  • less than 5m wide between major woody stems at the base
  • made up of at least 80% native shrubs

What you must do to use this item

You must:

  • carry out work when the hedge is dormant (between 30 September and 31 March)
  • remove all fencing and wire that could get tangled in hedge plants to be laid
  • remove bramble, clematis and other scrambling plants
  • cut out all elder plants and prevent re-growth of stumps
  • encourage vigorous re-growth from the base of the hedgerow by cutting stems down to ground level (less than 10 centimetres).
  • angle cuts so water can easily run off
  • keep all existing hedgerow trees
  • prevent livestock or wild animals browsing the coppiced stools
  • remove all cut material from the immediate site when you have finished coppicing the hedgerow
  • prevent livestock and grazing animals from damaging the hedge by setting fencing at least 1.2m from the centre of the hedge or as close to the base of the bank as possible (if there’s a bank)
  • trim the hedge for 3 years after coppicing, allowing the hedge to become taller and wider at each cut

You must not:

Evidence you must keep 

You must keep:

  • a map showing the location of existing hedgerow trees in each length of hedgerow and provide with your application – this can be your Farm Environment Record
  • photographs of the completed work and provide them with your claim

You must also keep and provide on request:

  • all consents or permissions connected with the work
  • receipted invoices or bank statements where a receipted invoice is unavailable
  • the date, location and method of any weed control carried out
  • the date of preparation works and coppicing
  • the dates of post-coppicing trimming
  • a photograph of each length of hedge entered into the item

Read the record keeping and site visit requirements in the Agreement holder’s guide: Capital Grants, Higher Tier capital grants and Protection and Infrastructure grants for more information.

Other items, supplements and actions you can use with this item

You can use this item with BN4: Earth bank restoration

Supplements

This item can be used on the same length as these supplements:

BN8: Hedgerow supplement - casting up

BN9: Hedgerow supplement - substantial pre-work

Sustainable Farming Incentive actions

You can use this item with these actions:

CHRW1: Assess and record hedgerow condition

CHRW2: Manage hedgerows

CHRW3: Maintain or establish hedgerow trees

Advice to help you use this item

The following advice may help you to use this item, but you do not have to follow it to get paid. It’s not part of this item’s requirements.   

Choosing the right hedgerow

Understand the requirements of the Hedgerow Regulations 2024 to help you decide what management is needed.

You can coppice most woody species successfully except:

  • holly
  • mature beech
  • mature hawthorn which is showing signs of rot

How to coppice a hedgerow successfully

To coppice a hedgerow successfully:

  • keep any existing trees and leave the occasional ‘standard’ hawthorn or other species if this fits in with the local landscape character
  • keep deadwood where possible
  • plant up gaps at the same time as coppicing to improve the continuity of the hedgerow boundary – plant native species that already occur in hedgerows in the local area
  • protect the newly coppiced hedgerow from damage by grazing animals – you may need rabbit fencing if local populations are high.

You can cover the coppiced hedgerow with cuttings but make sure they do not stop new growth 

You may only need temporary fencing in place until the hedgerow has grown enough to form a barrier.

Controlling weeds

You should control competitive weeds (including brambles, nettles and grasses) during the first growing season. This will reduce the weeds competing with:

coppiced stem-establishment and regrowth

soil moisture, nutrients and light

You can encourage dense bushy growth of the newly coppiced hedgerow by:

  • trimming lightly for 3 years
  • never cutting back to the same point and instead allowing the hedgerow to gradually increase in height and width by several centimetres at each cut

After 3 years, you can leave the hedgerow to grow unchecked until it needs managing again by laying, coppicing or trimming.

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 3 February 2025 + show all updates

  1. General improvement for clarity.

  2. Removal of text confirming Hedgerow coppicing availability under Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants (SFI pilot), as the SFI Capital offer is no longer available.

  3. 'Where to use this item' section updated to include detail on SFI pilot Hedgerows standard.

  4. Updated Where to use this item and how much will be paid.

  5. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  6. First published.

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