A NEW national forest has been given a funding boost of up to £7.5 million, the government announced today.

The new forest, which will be in either the Midlands or north England, is expected to be between 200 and 600 square miles and will focus on supporting healthy communities.

It will be one of three new national forests in England which Labour pledged to establish in its manifesto.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the government had committed up to £7.5m over five years, and forms part of a broader £1 billion government commitment to boost tree planting and support forestry.

The first of the new forests was announced in March last year, stretching from the Cotswolds to the Mendips in the west of England, where planting has already begun.

Defra said the project is expected to see more than 20 million trees planted across Bristol, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset by 2050.

Another new forest has been planned for the Oxford-Cambridge corridor.

Nature minister Mary Creagh said: “Too many communities can’t access the green spaces that benefit mental and physical health.”