BN5: Hedgerow laying

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the hedgerow laying 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

BN5 Hedgerow laying

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 

£13.52 per metre (m). The payment rate is for the total length of boundary hedgerow being laid, not for each side of the boundary.

How this item benefits the environment

Laying new 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 the major woody stems at the base of the boundary
  • made up of at least 80% native shrubs

You cannot use this item on:

What you must do to use this item

You must:

  • carry out work when the hedge is dormant (usually 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
  • partially cut through stems of existing shrubs near ground level (no more than 10 centimetres), lay the cut stems (‘pleachers’) at an angle approximately 35 to 45 degrees from the horizontal to close the gap and create a stock-proof barrier
  • remove the uncut heel from each pleacher
  • keep pleachers in position by bending (‘crooking’) and staking or staking and binding
  • keep all existing hedgerow trees
  • remove all cut material from the immediate site when you have finished hedgerow laying
  • control weeds during the first growing season after laying
  • 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 laying and allow the hedge to become taller and wider at each cut

If you need to fell trees, check if you need a felling licence from the Forestry Commission. You must have this in place before you start cutting down trees or you could be prosecuted.

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
  • photographs of each length of hedge entered into the item before work starts
  • the date, location and method of any weed control carried out
  • the date of preparation works and laying
  • the dates of post-laying trimming

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.

Supplements and actions you can use with this item

You can use this item with these supplements:

BN4:Earth bank restoration

BN8: Hedgerow supplement-casting up

BN9: Hedgerow supplement-substantial pre-work

BN10: Hedgerow supplement - top binding and staking

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  

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier actions

You can use this item with CHRW4: Manage hedgerows 

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.

Choose a hedgerow that:

  • has few gaps and enough stems to lay to achieve a continuous length of hedgerow
  • has stems between 5 centimetres (cm) to 15cm in diameter – however, it’s possible to cut larger stems with a chainsaw
  • is tall enough to lay (at least 2.5m and ideally 4m high)

How to lay a successful hedgerow

To lay a successful hedgerow:

  • only cut using hand tools (including chainsaws)
  • lay the hedge in the local style
  • cut each stem as low as possible but no more than 10cm from the ground
  • choose stems that do not leave large gaps when they’re laid
  • protect the newly laid hedge from damage by grazing animals – you may need rabbit fencing if local populations are high
  • leave as much side growth on the cut stems as possible
  • lay stems at an angle of about 35 to 45 degrees from the horizontal
  • 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 using native species to improve the continuity of the hedgerow

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

Controlling weeds and managing a newly laid hedgerow

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

laid stem-establishment and regrowth

soil moisture, nutrients and light

You can encourage dense bushy growth of the newly laid hedge by:

  • trimming lightly for 3 years
  • never cutting back to the same point to allow the hedge 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 laying 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. Added in links to Capital Grants manual as this option is now available for Capital Grants

  6. Where this option cannot be used - the reference to BE3: Management of hedgerows has been corrected

  7. The Requirements and Keeping records sections of this page have been updated.

  8. Information updated for applications in 2016.

  9. First published.

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