BE3: Management of hedgerows
Find out about eligibility and requirements for the management of hedgerows option.
How much will be paid
£13 per 100m for 1 side of a hedge.
Where to use this option
Available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier.
On boundary lines of shrubs, which are:
- composed of woody plants with less than 2 metres (m) between the ground and the base of the leafy layer
- over 20m long
- less than 5m wide between major woody stems at the base
Where this option cannot be used
- On features that are trees for most of their length
- In Mid Tier agreements, lengths of hedge managed under this option are not eligible for the capital item BN5 - Hedgerow laying, BN6 – Hedgerow coppicing and BN7 - Hedgerow gapping-up but may be eligible for other capital item payments
- In Higher Tier agreements, lengths of hedge managed under this option are not eligible for the capital item BN7 - Hedgerow gapping-up but may be eligible for other capital item payments.
How this option will benefit the environment
Managing hedges in this way increases the availability of blossom for invertebrates. By allowing fruit and berries to ripen it provides food for overwintering birds. It will also improve the structure and longevity of hedgerows, and maintains them as distinctive and historic landscape features.
Aims
If you’re selected for a site visit, we will check that delivery of the aims is being met and the prohibited activities have not been carried out. This will ensure the environmental benefits are being delivered.
From year 2 onwards, hedges will be at least 2m tall and 1.5m wide (except for sections which are gapped up, layed or coppiced during the term of the agreement).
Where a length of hedge has significant gaps, these will be gapped up.
During the autumn and winter, the hedges in this option will be managed on a rotation so that one of the following applies:
- Up to a third of the hedges are cut between September and February (the hedges are cut no more than one year in 3)
- Up to half the hedges are cut between January and February (the hedges are cut no more than one year in 2)
Prohibited activities
To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities.
- Supplementary feed livestock within 2m of the centre of the hedge
- Remove any tree limbs, including lower limbs, or mature ivy growth from hedgerow trees
- Remove any standing deadwood
On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.
Recommended management
To assist you in achieving the aims and deliver the environmental benefits for this option, we recommend that you use best practice.
We recommend that you:
- cut hedgerows in one of the following ways:
- no more than 1 year in 3 between 1 September and 28 February - leave at least two-thirds of hedges untrimmed each year
- no more than 1 year in 2 between 1 January and 28 February - leave at least one-half of hedges untrimmed each year
- gap up any length of hedge with more than 10% gaps within the first 2 years
There is no requirement to trim hedges at all during the agreement. Instead, leave them to grow and manage in a coppicing or laying rotation.
Keeping records
Where there is uncertainty about whether the aims of the options have been delivered, we will take into account any records or evidence you may have kept demonstrating delivery of the aims of the option. This will include any steps you’ve taken to follow the recommended management set out above. It’s your responsibility to keep such records if you want to rely on these to support your claim.
- Hedgerow management records
- Photographs of each hedge entered into the option
Additional guidance and advice
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
Pick the right hedge
If you do not have management control of both sides of a hedge, then only enter one side into the option. If there is no parcel number listed under your SBI for the land on one side of the hedgerow, for example where it is a road or track verge, or the land belongs to a neighbour, that side of the hedgerow cannot be entered into BE3 on your application.
Select hedges that:
- are connected to other hedges or habitats (such as woodlands and ponds)
- have other components such as hedgerow trees, bases or banks rich in flowers, or an adjacent ditch or margin
Use the option to improve the condition and longevity of hedges which are of particular historic interest, such as parish boundaries, or are especially important in the landscape.
Managing the hedges
If the correct rotor and forward speeds are used, well-maintained flails are effective for cutting 2- to 3-year-old growth of most woody species.
Fast growing species, such as ash or willow, may need heavier duty flails or more powerful cutting heads. Or, use a circular saw or leave hedges uncut.
Cutting to different lengths, rather than trimming back to the same point, allows hedges to increase in height and width by several centimetres at each cut, encouraging a dense, healthy hedgerow.
Use native shrubs species that already occur in hedgerows in the local area to gap up. A gap is a complete break in the canopy. Where a tree canopy overlaps the hedgerow canopy it is not counted as a gap.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
This option can form part of an IPM approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases. If successful, appropriate and within proximity of cropped areas, these may limit the need for the use of Plant Protection Products and enhance wildlife and biodiversity on your holding. Read information on IPM at AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Integrated Pest Management and LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).
Biodiversity
This option has been identified as being beneficial for biodiversity. All Countryside Stewardship habitat creation, restoration and management options are of great significance for biodiversity recovery, as are the wide range of arable options in the scheme. Capital items and supplements can support this habitat work depending on the holding’s situation and potential.
The connectivity of habitats is also very important and habitat options should be linked wherever possible. Better connectivity will allow wildlife to move/colonise freely to access water, food, shelter and breeding habitat, and will allow natural communities of both animals and plants to adapt in response to environmental and climate change.
Further information
Read more on:
Read Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage to find out more information about Mid Tier and Higher Tier including how to apply.
Last updated 4 January 2024 + show all updates
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Update to How Much Is Paid
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New payment rate from 1 January 2022.
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Additional guidance and advice section updated - this option can form part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases.
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Option updated for agreements starting 1 Janury 2022
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The Requirements and Keeping records sections of this page have been updated
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Update to section 'Where this option cannot be used'.
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Inclusion of BN5 - Hedgerow laying to the section Where this option cannot be used.
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Updated for 2017 applications.
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Information updated for applications in 2016.
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First published.