TE16: Use tree surgery to ‘hinge’ a tree into a watercourse
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-15)

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the use tree surgery to ‘hinge’ a tree into a watercourse item.

This item is part of Capital Grants 2025. You must read the Capital Grants 2025 guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-grants-2025) to understand the rules and how to apply.

If you’re applying for this item as part of a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) application, you must read the CSHT applicant’s guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht) to understand the rules and how to apply.

How much you’ll be paid

£95.26 per tree

How this item benefits the environment

Hinging means to cut partway through a tree or single stem of a tree so it can be bent into or across a watercourse and continue to grow.

The hinged tree or stem:
- creates a living woody habitat for invertebrates and fish providing shade and shelter from faster water flows and predators
- deflects the water flow away from the riverbank to restore habitat diversity
- creates pools and areas of faster and slower flowing water where sediment is deposited to provide more wildlife habitat
- creates a leaky barrier to push water onto the floodplain in high flows and helps to protect areas downstream from flooding
This item can help you protect, recover and improve biodiversity on your land.

Where you can use this item

You can only use this item:
- to hinge a whole tree or single stem of a tree with a diameter more than 30cm into or across a watercourse
- if you have a ‘tree hinging plan’ approved by Natural England or the Forestry Commission
What you must do to use this item

You must:
- follow an appropriate tree hinging plan that has been agreed by Natural England or the Forestry Commission – you can apply for funding for a PA1: Implementation plan (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/implementation-plan-pa1) or as part of a PA2: Feasibility (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/feasibility-study-pa2) study for river restoration
- cut the tree or single stem approximately halfway through and near its base (coppice height)
- anchor the end of the tree or stem as identified in your tree hinging plan – if you need to fix the hinged tree in place only use biodegradable materials such as sisal, wooden stakes or live wood (large-hinged boughs can anchor themselves under their own weight)
- make sure the hinged tree or stem is ‘leaky’ enough to allow fish and sediment to pass through
- protect the hinged tree or stem from grazing to allow regrowth
- maintain the hinged tree or stem as set out in your plan
You must not:
- trim back the smaller branches, brash or new sprouting growth on the hinged tree
- cut completely through the stem or fell the tree
You must also not use this item:
- for work required for health and safety purposes
- on trees showing signs of disease such as Phytophthora ramorum
- for bank protection
Evidence you must keep

You must keep photographs of the completed work and provide with your claim.

You must also keep and provide on request:
- any consents, permissions, plans or studies connected with the work – tree hinging may require a flood risk activity permit or ordinary water course consent from your Flood Risk Authority
- receipted invoices or bank statements where a receipted invoice is unavailable
- records of when the tree hinging surgery was done and by whom
- photographs of the trees before carrying out the works
Read the record keeping and site visit requirements in the Agreement holder’s guide: Capital Grants, Higher Tier capital grants and Protection and Infrastructure grants (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/agreement-holders-guide-capital-grants-higher-tier-capital-grants-and-protection-and-infrastructure-grants-2025) for more information.

If you’re applying for this item as part of a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) application, read the record keeping and site visit requirements in the CSHT agreement holder’s guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht).

Actions you can use with this item

Sustainable Farming Incentive

You can use with BFS6: 6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/bfs6-6m-to-12m-habitat-strip-next-to-watercourses).

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier

You can also use with the following actions:

CWD2: Woodland improvement (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cwd2-woodland-improvement)

CSW12: Make room for the river to move (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csw12-make-room-for-the-river-to-move)

CSW15: Flood mitigation on arable reversion to grassland (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csw15-flood-mitigation-on-arable-reversion-to-grassland)

CSW16: Flood mitigation on permanent grassland (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csw16-flood-mitigation-on-permanent-grassland)

CSW22: Connect river and floodplain habitats (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csw22-connect-river-and-floodplain-habitats)

CSW25: Manage riparian and water edge habitats (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/csw25-manage-riparian-and-water-edge-habitats)

You can use on land in these Countryside Stewardship options:

SW12: Making space for water (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/making-space-for-water-sw12)

SW15: Flood mitigation on arable reversion to grassland (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/sw15-flood-mitigation-on-arable-reversion-to-grassland)

SW16: Flood mitigation on permanent grassland (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/sw16-flood-mitigation-on-permanent-grassland)

WD1: Woodland creation - maintenance payments (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/woodland-creation-maintenance-payments-wd1)

WD2: Woodland improvement (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/woodland-improvement-wd2)

Advice to help you use this item

The following advice may help you to use this item, but you do not have to follow it to get paid. It’s not part of this item’s requirements .

What to include in a tree hinging plan

Your tree hinging plan can include:
- which trees or stems you will hinge
- how you’ll hinge the trees or stems and when you’ll do it
- the intended outcomes of the work
- surveying for protected species and which wildlife licence you may need
- how you’ll manage the hinged trees or stems
- which permits or consents you’ll need
To decide which trees or stems to hinge, you should consider:
- advice from an arboricultural expert or Forestry Commission adviser
- how the hinging affects water levels upstream
- how bridges or culverts downstream are affected by woody debris from the hinged tree or stem – for example, if they could become blocked
- if protected species and their habitats such as nesting birds, bats, otters or fish could be affected by the hinged tree or stem
How to hinge a tree into a watercourse

You should carry out tree hinging as part of a river restoration or natural flood management project.

You should aim to create a diverse riparian and river habitat with:
- a mixture of riverbank trees
- standing and fallen deadwood
- woody material in the river channel
Common species for tree hinging are alder and willow. They should be healthy and disease-free.

A hinged tree is still attached to its base. It will bend over and fall into or across a river and continue to grow. You should leave smaller branches and brash on the tree, unless they interfere with anchoring the tree.

A heavy tree or stem will anchor itself. You may need to tether a lighter tree or stem to the riverbed, bank or other riparian tree (if the hinged bough spans the watercourse). Only use biodegradable material to tether such as sisal, wooden stakes or live wood.

To decide which tree is suitable for hinging, you need to consider:
- how the tree leans
- the weight of the canopy
- the width of the channel
- the speed of water flow – will the tree withstand high flows
Trees that face downstream and parallel to the bank will not be under as much pressure as trees hinged across the channel or facing upstream.

Trees that span the watercourse must allow spaces for fish, water and sediment to flow through the channel. Hinged trees in the channel can alter river flow and erosion regimes. You may need agreement from the owner of the opposite bank if it’s not part of your holding.

You cannot use tree hinging to protect banks against natural erosion, such as a cliff forming on the outside of a meander bend. This would affect the natural morphology of the watercourse and the habitat that forms as a result.

Tree surgery and safety

You should be aware of the dangers of tree surgery and working at height or in water. Read ‘Common sense risk management of trees’ (https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications/common-sense-risk-management-of-trees-landowner-summary/) for more information on tree management and safety.

Consents and permissions

You may need to get:
- Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) and Conservation Orders may apply to the trees on site
- a wildlife licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-and-protect-woodland-wildlife) from Natural England to carry out work where protected species are present, such as bats, water voles or otters
Contact the Environment Agency, lead local flood authority or internal drainage board for advice on tree hinging.