Government gives new UK forest given £7.5m funding boost

The new forest, which will be in either the Midlands or north England, is expected to be between 200 and 600 square miles.

It will focus on supporting healthy communities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

It will be one of three new national forests in England which Labour pledged to establish in its manifesto.

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On Monday, the department announced the Government had committed up to £7.5 million over a five-year period to support the forest and called for delivery partners to submit bids to help deliver the new project.

The funding forms part of the Government’s commitment to invest more than £1 billion this parliament in tree planting and to support the forestry sector.

The first of the new forests was announced in March last year, stretching from the Cotswolds to the Mendips in the west of England.

Planting has already begun here, with the project expected to see more than 20 million trees planted across Bristol, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset by 2050, the department said.

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Another new forest has been planned for the Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) corridor.

Nature minister Mary Creagh said: “In our manifesto we promised three new national forests, and after the Western Forest and the OxCam arc forest we’re looking for England’s newest forest in the Midlands or North.

“Too many communities can’t access the green spaces that benefit mental and physical health.

“This new national forest will help change that, and I encourage every eligible organisation with the vision and expertise to come forward.”

Officials said the forests would boost communities and drive economic growth, while enhancing nature and bringing trees and woodlands closer to where people live.