The Government says it will plant 10 new community forests in England over the next five months, in a move designed to protect the environment.

A £12.1 million fund to plant 500 hectares in the ‘Trees for Climate’ was announced on Sunday morning, with forests stretching from Yorkshire to Somerset.

It is hoped the trees will eventually store 100,000 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to more than 45,000 transatlantic flights, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

Though it is one of a number of measures aimed at delivering the Government’s commitment to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025, it would still only contribute to one 60th of that annual target. The Government also plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Defra said the project will help reduce flood risk, boost biodiversity and increase people’s access to woodland and green space, but campaigners may feel the plan does not go far enough.

It is also hoped the scheme will increase jobs within the forestry and environmental sector.

Among those due to receive funding are The Forest of Marston Vale, Bedfordshire, the Greenwood Community Forest, west Nottinghamshire, and the City of Trees in Greater Manchester.

Also included are the Mersey Forest, the Forest of Avon, the Forest of Mercia, two projects in Yorkshire and two in the south-east.

The cash will come from the Government’s £640 million Nature for Climate Fund, which was announced in March.

Forestry Minister Lord Goldsmith said: ‘Through this exciting new programme we will build back greener, as more communities – particularly those in urban environments – will have access to nature, with real benefits for health and wellbeing.

‘Trees are the backbone of our urban and rural environments, and essential in tackling the climate emergency.

‘This vital programme will plant trees where they are most needed to stem flooding and provide more places for nature to thrive.’

Sir William Worsley, chair of the Forestry Commission, added: ‘The £12.1 million boost will be a huge help both for getting trees in the ground, but also enabling each of the community forests to ensure they are well-managed in the long term, making sure these new woods can thrive to the fullest extent.’

To mark national tree week, which ends today, Friends of the Earth produced a map showing the areas where potential woodlands could be created across England – and said it was possible to double current woodland coverage of the country, which is around 10%.

In Northumberland alone, the environment group said there was potential for 77,000 hectares of new woodland.

Danny Gross, tree campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘We’re calling on Forestry Minister Zac Goldsmith to mark National Tree Week by setting an ambitious target to boost tree cover in England. 

‘Growing more trees would help us fight climate breakdown while enabling more people to access nature in their local area. We need more councils to step up and grow more trees, but it’s time that ministers in Westminster offer more funding for climate action at a local level.’

The Trees for Climate scheme comes on the back of £3.9 million of funding announced on Saturday to help increase tree cover in urban and rural settings across the UK, as well as close to waterways to reduce flood risk.

More than half the funding, £2.5 million, will be spent on five pilot schemes over the next two-and-a-half years, to develop tree planting programmes in different communities.

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