How much you’ll be paid

£121.62 per guard

How this item benefits the environment

This item protects trees from damage caused by grazing animals and wild animals.

Where you can use this item

You can use this item on trees where you have land under a habitat management, restoration or creation action or option. 

You can also use this item in a Higher Tier Capital Grant with AF1: Plant an agroforestry woodland tree or AF2: Plant an agroforestry fruit tree (with the agreement of the Forestry Commission or Natural England).

You can use this item when planting trees with these capital items:

• TE1: Planting standard hedgerow tree
• TE2: Planting standard parkland tree
• TE3: Planting fruit trees
• TE4: Supply and plant tree

You cannot use this item with:

• TE8: Tree guard (small post and rail and wide weld mesh)
• TE19: Tree guard (narrow weld mesh)

What you must do to use this item

You must erect tree guards at least 21.5 metres (m) high which have:

• 4 treated timber corner posts
• 56 centimetres (cm) diameter top and middle rails
• a bottom rail if grazing animals are likely to get underneath the guard
• posts placed so grazing animals cannot reach within 0.5m of the tree stem
• a single strand of barbed wire along the top rail to prevent animals rubbing against the guard (if needed)
• design the tree guard to allow access for formative pruning, applying mulch and clearing vegetation around the base of each tree

You must also either:

• fasten a rail, sheep netting or 3 strands of taut plain or barbed wire to the corner posts between the middle and top rails,rails
• fasten anda between the middle rail andor the bottom rail
• use sheep netting instead of barbed wire between the middle rail and the bottom rail if sheep are likely to graze the parcel
• designfasten thevertical treerails guard(with toa allowmaximum accessof for20cm formativebetween pruning,each applyingrail) mulchto and clearing vegetation around the basetop ofand eachbottom treerails

You must not:

• fasten guards to the tree
• attach guards so they rub against, constrict or damage the tree in any other way

Evidence you must keep

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

You must also keep and provide on request:

• any consents or permissions connected with the work
• receipted invoices, or bank statements where a receipted invoice is unavailable
• photographs of existing trees to be protected

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 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.