Well, after 7 years, despite adding to it, my brash pile/dead hedge was looking decidedly flat and no longer presented the imposing barrier it once was. The willow stakes, despite initially sprouting, all died off, probably because there's not much light in that corner (due to adjacent trees). I'm fortunate, I think, to have an absolute glut of logs that have been delivered over the years by various tree surgeons and many of them were piled up nearby, frankly taking up space and doing little good. I have a huge supply of split and dried logs, so have no need or will to burn them, especially as many of the bits are in huge chunks or knotty.
So spent a couple of hours today dumping them on top of the hedge. Many of them rolled behind it, which is fine, as it's a dead space between two fences, and the plan is to pile a couple of tonnes of compost and/or woodchip over it, to encourage rotting. Should give a home to one or two invertebrates, I'd have thought, and should still stop the dogs escaping!