What the action involves
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
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- manage hedges to allow them to reach a height and width agreed with your Natural England adviser
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- locate vehicle or stock access routes at least 6m away from features (as agreed with your Natural England adviser)
- make sure all woody cuttings have been removed from within 2m of the centre of the hedge after trimming
- agree hedgerow cutting frequency with your Natural England adviser
- leave hedgerows to grow uncut if agreed by your Natural England adviser
- tag hedgerow trees agreed with your Natural England adviser
- manage the herb layer within 2m of the centre of the hedgerow as agreed with you Natural England adviser
You must not:
- remove any tree limbs including the lower limbs or mature ivy growth from hedgerow trees
- remove any standing deadwood
- supplementary feed within 2m of the centre of the hedge
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs
The same action appears in the other schemes under a different code. The work is broadly the same; the rate and the length of the commitment are not.
- SFI26 — CHRW2: £13 per 100 metres for one side of an eligible hedgerow per year, over 3 years
- SFI26 pays the same rate and commits you for 3 years rather than 5.
- SFI 2023 — HRW2: £13 per 100 metres for one side of an eligible hedgerow per year, over 3 years
- SFI 2023 pays the same rate and commits you for 3 years rather than 5.
Where you can do it
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 hedgerow when you add all the gaps in it together
If the gaps add up to more than 10%, you can do the action on the total length of the hedgerow if you’ll plant up the gaps during this action’s 5-year duration. You can apply for capital grants for BN7:Hedgerow gapping up and BN11: Planting new hedges 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:
- have a legal right or obligation to maintain the hedgerow
- can meet this action’s requirements
Eligible land
All land use codes are eligible for this action.
Available area
Not applicable as this is a linear action. You can choose what length of eligible hedgerows to enter into this action.
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must keep it on the same area of land for the duration of your agreement.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Forestry Commission woodland officer or Natural England adviser if you have other historic or archaeological features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
