New woodland near Okehampton in Devon
At Forestry England, we're creating a brand new woodland near Okehampton. Okement Wood will cover around 83 hectares and be planted with a mix of carefully selected tree species, including both broadleaf and conifer trees. As these trees grow, Okement Wood will become a valuable habitat for wildlife and an important carbon store. In time, it will also provide a future source of sustainable timber and become a new green space for you to explore and enjoy.
This isn't the only new woodland we're creating in this part of Devon. We’re also developing Fishleigh Wood, near Hatherleigh, just 8 miles away, and Quoditch, 12 miles away. All three sites are also a short drive away from our existing woodlands at Abbeyford Woods. Together, these sites will help create a stronger network of woodland cover across the landscape.
Work in progress...
At the moment, we're still developing our plans for Okement Wood. We've been carrying out detailed surveys to better understand the site, its wildlife, and its surrounding environment, and we have been speaking to properties neighbouring the new site to understand their views.
We'll be inviting local communities to share their views and ideas to help shape our designs for the new woodland in a formal consultation currently planned for February 2026.
This new woodland is one of the many we're creating across the UK to grow the nation's forests, with support from the Government’s Nature for Climate Fund programme.
Frequently asked questions about the new woodland
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 wider range of wildlife.
We're 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.
We will post key updates on this webpage as the project progresses.