2,500 Farmers Seek Grants to Lay 1,300km of Mature Hedgerows
2,500 farmers across England have applied for capital grants to restore and maintain mature hedgerows using hedge laying, making it one of the four most selected categories from the £225 million UK government pot this year for environmental improvements on farms and countryside. The Guardian
If approved, the applications would result in 1,300km (800 miles) of laid mature hedgerow. That length is described as enough to stretch from Land's End to Hadrian's Wall and back. Hedge laying in this context involves cutting through hedge stems almost completely, then laying them at an angle to the ground so new growth comes back thicker from the base, a bit like resetting a living fence.
The applications sit within the 2026 Capital Grants offer. In 2026, £225 million in Capital Grants funding is available to support farmers, land managers and rural businesses. Defra Farming Blog Defra has published guidance for Capital Grants 2026. Defra Farming Blog Decisions rest with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Approvals will decide.
Robert Rose, who farms 220 acres of grassland for beef cattle and arable fields at Rosewood Farm in Ellerton in Yorkshire's Lower Derwent valley, is among those awaiting a decision. His application would cover old blackthorn and newer hawthorn, as well as ash and willow hedges. It would help him lay about 50 metres of hedges, as well as planting new hedgerows and coppicing others. Coppicing means cutting shrubs or trees back to the base to let them regrow.
The specialist bodies in this area include the People's Trust for Endangered Species, where Megan Gimber is key habitats officer, and the National Hedgelaying Society, chaired by Stephen Budding. The National Hedgelaying Championships are scheduled to be held in Chipping Norton in October 2026.
Looking at what this means for delivery, the national total is an applied-for figure, not a completed length. The gap between application and approval matters. A 50-metre project on a beef and arable holding and the 1,300km aggregate belong to different scales of decision, yet they are linked by the same grant mechanism.
In my view, the interest lies in the selection itself. Farmers chose laying from the capital items on offer. That choice, repeated 2,500 times, gives an early indication of preference within the 2026 offer. It does not by itself determine outcomes.
The broader context here is conversion. The applications combine laying with planting and coppicing on holdings such as Rosewood Farm. How many proceed, at what lengths, and in what combinations will determine whether the Land's End to Hadrian's Wall and back comparison remains a measure of intent or becomes a measure of laid hedge.
