Growing the nation's forests
We're planning to create a new 46-hectare woodland just north of Newton-on-the-Moor in Northumberland. Newton Wood is being carefully designed as part as part of our work to increase tree cover across England and create lasting benefits for wildlife, people, and the climate. It will also be a productive woodland, growing and supplying sustainable timber for decades to come.
Northumberland is one of the last strongholds for red squirrels in England, and one of the key aims of the new woodland is create new, much-needed habitat to help support their recovery.
Work in progress...
At the moment, we’re still developing our plans for Newton Wood. We recently hosted an online public consultation, where we invited local communities to share their thoughts and ideas with us. We’d like to thank everyone who got involved, as your feedback will help shape the final designs for Newton Wood. Right now, we’re working through the comments from the public consultation, and we’ll be sharing our final designs later this year.
Supporting red squirrel recovery
As one of the last strongholds for red squirrels in England, Northumberland has an important part to play in their recovery. Many of the trees we will be planting at Newton Wood will be conifer species, which make ideal habitats for red squirrels. This is because these tree species are less suitable for the invasive grey squirrel. By offering new conifer woodland in an area where red squirrels have been recorded, Newton Wood could play a role in supporting their recovery.
Frequently asked questions
Right now, we're still in the early stages of creating our design for the new woodland. Public feedback and surveys will inform our detailed plans for it. Our aim is to create the new woodland over the next couple of years with initial planting beginning in winter 2026/27.
Newton Wood will be a productive woodland once the trees have grown to a suitable height. As part of our ongoing management, we will begin to remove some of the trees after about 20 years to provide a sustainable supply of timber and help the woodland to continue to grow healthily for many years to come. When done responsibly, tree felling can be good for the health of forests, as well as providing other benefits such as helping to tackle the climate crisis. For a sustainable future, we need to use more wood to replace fossil fuel intensive products, like plastic, and to lock up carbon.
We'll carefully plan in detail the trees that will be planted in the new woodland. Using a mix of tree and shrub species will help make the wood resilient to climate change and tree diseases, whilst also supporting a wide range of wildlife.
Some areas will be planted with a mix of trees, including both broadleaved trees and conifers. This will complement the local landscape, provide seasonal colour and increase resilience.
