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The Western Forest will span 2,500 hectares across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, the West of England, and North Somerset.
Within this, Weston-super-Mare has been identified as one of the priority urban areas that will receive support to increase tree planting.
The initiative is led by the Forest of Avon and is first national forest in more than 30 years.
The project will connect woodlands, which are important for the region’s biodiversity, woodland health and carbon storage.
It supports our green infrastructure objectives, as increasing tree cover will help us address both the climate and nature emergency we’re facing.
Trees help cool us, absorb pollution, make places look more beautiful, are havens for wildlife and absorb carbon.
More tree planting will take place across the area as we aim to connect woodlands from the north to the south of North Somerset and along the Mendip Hills.
The new forest is part the government’s Plan for Change, to help England reach its target of increasing woodland cover to 16.5 per cent by 2050.
The planting of 20 million trees by 2050 will mean they could absorb about 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, helping to reach the government’s net zero and nature targets.
The Western Forest will be spearheaded by the Forest of Avon, one of England’s Community Forests, and supported by up to £7.5m of government funding over five years.
It’s the result of a successful regional partnership bid, led by the Forest of Avon with support from ourselves, the Natural History Consortium, the region’s other councils, and Great Western Community Forest, with more than 40 organisations lending their support including the West of England Combined Authority.