UK confirms Ox-Cam national forest and £1bn tree-planting pledge

The UK government confirmed a new national forest in the Ox-Cam corridor and committed over £1 billion this parliament to tree planting and forestry support.

• Main announcement: The UK Government confirmed a second new national forest for the Ox-Cam corridor (announcement made Wednesday 5 November). It reiterated a manifesto pledge to create three new National Forests (the Western Forest was announced in March), will plant millions of trees, and will allocate over £1 billion this parliament to tree planting and forestry-sector support. A competition to decide the third forest’s location in the Midlands or North of England will launch in early 2026.
• Background and implementation details: The Government will explore a Woodland Carbon Purchase Fund (backed by up to £250 million) to offer upfront payments to landowners to plant carbon-rich woodlands; the announcement cites that meeting tree planting targets across Great Britain could support over 14,000 jobs. The Environment Secretary (Emma Reynolds) framed the programme as part of the Plan for Change; further detail will appear in the upcoming Environmental Improvement Plan. The Prime Minister is noted to be attending COP30 the day after the announcement, following climate goals announced at COP29 in Baku.