Government commits £7.5m to progress new national forest plans
The government has announced a £7.5m commitment over a five-year period to support the creation of a third new national forest.
The new national forest will be located in either the Midlands or North of England covering 600m2 in scale. The area should be large enough to make significant long-term contribution to tree-planting targets, while sitting within the area’s existing landscape and local identity.
Eligible organisations across the Midlands and North have been invited to submit bids to become a delivery partner.
Intended to improve health for communities, with low-income communities disproportionately feeling the impacts of poor access to green and blue spaces.
Nature minister Mary Creagh says, “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.”
Since the Western Forest and the OxCam arc forest, the third comes to bring green space to more people.
John Everitt, national forest company chief executive, also comments on the announcement:
“Opening the competition for the third new national forest is a major milestone in accelerating our tree planting ambitions. We are looking forward to seeing some strong applications that can make a real difference for the health and wellbeing of communities across the Midlands and North of England.”
Bids to become the delivery partner are now open for submission until 7 July.