Great Northumberland Forest

The Great Northumberland Forest[1] was announced by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Theresa Villiers at the Conservative Party Conference on 27 September 2019.

The plans had been championed by the Member of Parliament for Hexham, Guy Opperman, who stated that the proposed forest would help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, increase the provision of green space in the region for recreational purposes and provide the nucleus for a new forestry/timber industry.

[2][4] The Forestry Partnership will then look to expand the forest by identifying new sites suitable for afforestation, of which there is an estimated 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) in the county.

By May 2020 Forestry England had started planting Rushy Knowe, a new 145 hectares (360 acres) forest on the banks of Kielder Water.

That same month it announced the purchase of 100 hectares (250 acres) of land at Monkridge, West Woodburn for the second of three sites.