Will my Fir Trees fill out to a Tidy Hedge?

Can my short row of Fir Trees be cut back to encourage them to form a narrow hedge, or is that not going to realistically happen in the space of a year or two?

As it stands, they’re ugly: straggly and about 5ft wide.

Can I cut them back to approx 1ft or so width from the Trunk and have them grow into a nice thick Hedge; or would I be better to not waste my time and simply dig them up?

I lopped the top off them last autumn, about 3-4months ago, and they're now about 8ft tall (I took about 4ft or so off). I thought doing so might encourage them to 'fill out' a bit, as well as avoiding having them taller than I can manage myself; but possibly I was mistaken as they look no different (apart from being a bit shorter).

I've got more than enough DIY on my hands having moved house fairly recently and I don't want to make work for myself removing them if they can be nice, while by the same token, if they’ll never be what I want them to be I'll have them gone now and gain extra space by putting my re-erected Shed and its Base that much closer to the fence.

NB: tip. I've found a 24Tooth Wood bit in an Angle Grinder everso handy for digging out Tree Roots; exercise appropriate caution of course. I took out a Leylandii at our previous home.

 

No MostlyVegsSouthCo your hedge won’t fill out or improve Sorry.
I would replace with something else.
Yes, they will grow well from the top but not from the side now

 

If you cut them back to 1ft from the trunks you will probably be left with brown branches, I think I can see some in your pictures. Unfortunately this type of conifer doesn't replace the branches with new growth, so they are best removed.

 

Thanks Verdun and Sheal. They'll not be standing much longer.

 

Looking better already, thanks again!

 

For sure...now you can plant something you really want there