New set of forest towns to be built between Oxford and Cambridge

A new set of forest towns will be built in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, nestled in the middle of a new national forest.

After facing anger from nature groups over the deregulation in the upcoming planning bill, ministers are trying to demonstrate that mass housebuilding can be delivered in conjunction with new nature. The government has promised to plant millions of trees to boost England’s nature.

Nature minister Mary Creagh told the Guardian: “A previous Labour government had this great vision of garden cities post world war two and given our promises on tree planting, we thought, how can we create these forest cities which basically bring nature closer to people, green jobs closer to these new communities and help us tackle climate change?”

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced investment into the “Ox-Cam corridor” and hopes to link the cities to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. The government sees it as essential for the UK’s economic growth, and says it could add up to £78bn to the economy by 2035. The government says it will build new towns and rail links between the two.

At the same time, a new national forest will be built so those who live and work in the area have green spaces to enjoy, and to create high-quality nature to complement the urban areas.

Creagh added that this announcement would be part of Keir Starmer’s Cop30 offering. She said: “The prime minister is attending the world leaders’ Cop meeting, this is a forest Cop in the Amazon and we are showing as a country we are stepping up.”

She added that the model will show that the government and developers can “use trees to essentially build communities and provide beautiful housing and beautiful locations for people, where people want to live and builders want to build.”

The homes in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor would be a 10-minute walk from the forest, she said: “It’s about creating places and spaces where generations of people are going to build a home, make their families, they’re lovely for people to live in and where nature can thrive.”

Another national forest will be planted in the north of England, with a competition to decide the location to be launched early next year as part of a commitment to allocate more than £1bn this parliament to tree planting and support to the forestry sector. In March, the government announced the Western Forest, which was the first new national forest in three decades and is planned to stretch from the Cotswolds to the Mendips.

All departments have been asked to link their policies to the chancellor’s “economic growth mission”, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has said that planting trees creates growth because meeting tree planting targets across Britain could result in over 14,000 jobs being created and supported. Defra also said it will explore a woodland carbon purchase fund, offering upfront payments to landowners to plant carbon-rich woodlands.

The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said: “Our woodlands are vital for regulating our climate, supporting wildlife, and increasing access to nature for us all.

“We are delivering on our manifesto commitment with three new national forests: planting is under way in the West Country, a second will be between Oxford and Cambridge and we will launch a competition for a third next year.”

More details on the government’s biodiversity measures are expected in the rewritten environmental improvement plan, which is expected to be published soon. This will set out how ministers plan to meet the legally binding nature targets set out in the 2021 Environment Act.