Hedgerows: How can we get things growing?

Hedgerows are one of the defining features of the English and Welsh countryside. They help contain livestock, shelter crops and stock, support wildlife, store carbon, and contribute to the character of our rural landscapes.

Yet despite their importance, there are growing concerns about the condition of many existing hedgerows and the challenges involved in creating and restoring new ones.

The CLA is currently involved in research and working groups to shape future policy and funding for hedgerows in England.

We want to ensure that the practical experience of landowners and land managers is at the centre of policy development.

Therefore, we are inviting perspectives on the realities of hedgerow management, their challenges, and what changes could be made to better support landowners and managers to grow and manage hedgerows.

England’s Environmental Improvement Plan (2025) has the target of supporting farmers and land managers to create or restore 48,000km of hedgerows by 2037 and 72,500km of hedgerows by 2050. Therefore, there is currently a government research initiative aimed at understanding how to increase hedgerow establishment and encourage active management to improve the condition of existing hedgerows.

From a biodiversity perspective, maintaining a healthy hedge generally involves following a long-term management cycle. A hedge may be left to grow when it is dense and healthy and/or needs to gain height. Trimming can then take place on a multi-year cycle, allowing the hedge to gradually gain height and shaping the hedge without removing flowers and berries that are important for wildlife.

Over time, hedges can lose density towards the base and become gappy and leggy. In the longer term, this can lead to hedges dying or transitioning into a line of trees. Consequently, more substantial rejuvenation work is needed over the lifecycle of a hedge to act as a ‘reset.’  This can involve hedge laying, where stems are partially cut and bent over to stimulate new growth, or coppicing, where stems are cut close to the ground to encourage vigorous regrowth from the base.

These techniques are generally carried out every 30 to 40 years to maintain dense, biodiversity-rich hedgerows that can provide shelter for both stock and crops. Hedgerows that have fallen out of this management cycle may need to undergo restoration to get back to a healthy state. This will likely involve planting to fill in gaps, as well as coppicing or laying where possible.

Defra want to see an increase in landowners planting and maintaining hedgerows in this kind of long-term management cycle to meet their statutory environmental targets. The aim of the CLA is to ensure that Defra’s approach is informed by the realities faced by landowners and managers.

The CLA would like to hear from landowners and managers who have experience of establishing or managing hedgerows (or not), and the opportunities and challenges that comes with having hedgerows on their land.

Through sharing your practical, on-the-ground perspective, you can help the CLA ensure that this is reflected in policy and grant reform.

You can share your perspective with Harrie Mort by email at harrie.mort@cla.org.uk