Yew Hedge??

[phirow]

Do you really want to have a Yew hedge?

To plant -up I would "cop it" take it down to fence height then plant between the gaps,

this works better than coppice, this works better than coppice. You will allow the light and the young plants thrive.

[renewablejohn]

I would just prune every third stem back to ground level and see how it grows back. If reasonable do another third next winter. If regrowth not strong by third year then lay remaining Yew. If still no use than grub out and start again. My personal experience with yew is that its very forgiving and very difficult to kill by abuse.