The government’s November 2025 announcement placed a new national forest in the Oxford–Cambridge corridor, linking woodland creation with the design of places where people live and work. It did not identify a completed forest or provide final boundaries for a series of finished towns.
Defra said the forest’s exact location remained subject to design work and discussions with partners. Its stated aim was to plan green spaces alongside homes, employment and infrastructure, bringing nature recovery into development rather than treating it as a separate afterthought.
The announcement formed part of a commitment to create three new national forests. The Western Forest had been announced in March 2025; a competition was planned to select a third location in the Midlands or northern England.
The headline commitment of more than £1 billion covered tree planting and support for the forestry sector across the Parliament. It should not be read as a £1 billion construction allocation solely for the Oxford–Cambridge forest.
A later development provides useful context, clearly separated from this article’s original November date. On 12 January 2026, Defra opened an expression-of-interest process to identify potential delivery partners for the Oxford–Cambridge project.
The department sought experience in large-scale woodland creation, community engagement and partnerships across sectors. The January announcement described submissions as helping Defra and the National Forest Company understand which organisations were suitable and how delivery could work.
That process illustrates the difference between announcing a landscape ambition and establishing the arrangements needed to deliver it. The January submission window was a historical step, not an invitation that remains open through this archive article.
For property readers, the proposal raises practical questions about how future neighbourhoods connect with green space and how those landscapes are managed. The published statements establish the ambition and early delivery process; they do not demonstrate that every home has forest access or that the intended environmental benefits have already been achieved.