CHRW2: Manage hedgerows
What you must do to get paid for this action and advice on how to do it.
This is an action in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme: expanded offer for 2024. You must read the SFI scheme information to understand the scheme rules and how to apply.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£13 per 100 metres (m) for one side of an eligible hedgerow per year
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there are managed hedgerows with a range of different heights and widths.
The purpose of this is to provide:
- habitat for wildlife
- pollen, nectar and berries for mammals, birds and insects
Where you can do this action
An eligible hedgerow for this action must be:
- a boundary line of shrubs, or both shrubs and trees
- over 20m long
- less than 10m wide
The hedgerow can be:
- newly planted, laid or coppiced
- woody growth on top of an earth or stone-faced bank, for example, Cornish or Devon hedges
There can be gaps in the hedgerow if they’re not more than:
- 20m long
- 10% of the total length of the relevant hedgerow when you add all the gaps in it together
If the gaps add up to more than 10%, you can only do the action on the total length of the hedgerow if you’ll plant up the gaps during this action’s 3-year duration. You can apply for Capital Grants for hedgerow gapping up (BN7) and planting new hedges (BN11) to help you do this.
You can do this action on either one side or both sides of an eligible hedgerow unless you’re managing a fully established hedgerow in a coppicing or laying rotation. In this case, you must enter both sides of the hedgerow.
You must have management control of one or both sides, depending on what you enter into this action.
You can enter both sides of a roadside hedgerow, or a hedgerow that borders a neighbour’s land, if you meet both of the following:
- you have a legal right or obligation to maintain the hedgerow
- you can meet this action’s requirements
Eligibility of protected land
| Protected land | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Eligible – you must get SSSI consent before you do this action (read section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this) |
| Historic and archaeological features | Eligible – you must get a SFI HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’in the SFI scheme information to find out how to do this) |
Available area you can enter into this action
Not applicable, as this is a linear action. You can choose what length of eligible hedgerows to enter into this action.
Rotational or static action
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What to do
You must manage hedgerows entered into this action. What you must do to manage them depends on whether they’re:
- fully established, which will usually be the case around 5 years after they’re planted
- newly planted, or not fully established
If the hedgerows are fully established, you must use one of the following management approaches (you can use different approaches on different fully established hedgerows):
- cut each hedgerow incrementally
- on a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 3 years, cutting no more than one third of hedges each year
- on a rotation, cut each hedgerow no more than once every 2 years, cutting no more than half the hedges each year
- managing them in a coppicing or laying rotation, which may mean they’re left uncut for the duration of your 3-year SFI agreement
If the hedgerows are newly planted, or not fully established, you must lightly trim them incrementally. You must do this until they’re fully established.
When to do it
For fully established hedgerows, if you’re cutting them:
- incrementally, you must do this during the autumn and winter months (usually September to late February), each year of this action’s 3-year duration
- on a rotation no more than once every 3 years, you must do this during the autumn and winter months
- on a rotation no more than once every 2 years, you must do this in late winter (usually from early January to late February)
For newly planted hedgerows, or hedgerows which are not fully established, you must lightly trim them incrementally:
- during the autumn and winter months
- each year of this action’s 3-year duration
How to do it
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
- follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
- do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
You may find it helpful to read the ‘advice to help you do this action’, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
- field operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
- photographs or other documentation
If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.
Other actions or options you can do with this action
You can do the following actions or options in land parcels with eligible boundaries entered into this action.
| Scheme | Action or option codes |
|---|---|
| SFI 2024 actions | All SFI 2024 actions, expect BND1 |
| SFI 2023 actions | All SFI 2023 actions, except HRW2 |
| CS options | All CS management options, except BE3 (management of hedgerows) |
| ES options | All ES revenue options, except boundary options |
| SFI pilot standards | All SFI pilot standards, except the SFI pilot hedgerows standard |
Advice to help you do this action
The following advice may help you to do this action, but it’s not part of this action’s requirements.
Managing hedgerows
This action explains what you’re required to do to manage hedgerows entered into this action (under ‘What to do’).
Before you start managing the hedgerows, check whether there are any regulatory restrictions which may affect what you’re intending to do. For example:
- birds, nests and eggs are protected by law, so if you see signs of nesting birds, delay cutting until the birds fledge
- you can check with your local authority if any hedgerows are in a conservation area
- if your management of hedgerows will include felling trees, check if you need a tree felling licence
Read section 10 ‘Get all necessary regulatory consents, permissions and licences in place’ of the SFI scheme information for more details.
You may find it helpful to read:
- the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) guidance on top tips for managing hedgerows
- Hedgelink’s hedgerow management advice
How to cut your hedgerows
How you cut your hedgerows will affect how much wildlife benefit they will have. For example, if you cut the hedgerow:
- too low, it will not be used by birds and animals that like to feed or nest further away from the ground
- back to the same point every year, it’s unlikely to produce many berries
- to the same height each time, it will have poor structure and is likely to provide fewer nesting sites for birds, with easier access for their predators
If you choose to cut your fully established hedgerows incrementally, you can do this by increasing the height and width of each cut by about 10 centimetres (cm) compared with the previous cut.
If your hedgerow is newly planted or not fully established, this action requires you to lightly trim it incrementally until it’s fully established. Doing this will encourage dense, bushy growth.
You can find more information about cutting hedgerows in:
- Natural England’s Hedge cutting: answers to 18 common questions leaflet
- the People’s Trust for Endangered Species guidance on incremental cutting.
Coppicing or laying hedgerows
If you manage fully established hedgerows in a copping or laying rotation, this can restore them by stimulating new growth from the base.
You can manage regrowth by cutting it incrementally higher and wider to form a bushy hedgerow.
Updates to this page
Published 21 May 2024Last updated 5 August 2024 + show all updates
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Eligibility of protected land - updated link to section 10.3 ‘SSSI consent’ in the SFI scheme information. Published voluntary advice to help you do this action, but it's not part of this action’s requirements.
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First published.