A Northern Forest of 50 million trees is to be planted between Liverpool and Hull, the Prime Minister has announced. Over the next 25 years, a vast swathe of woodland will be created over an 120 mile area to improve the environment and help prevent 190,000 homes from flooding.

On Sunday, Defra pledged an initial £5.7 million to launch the scheme which will be administered by The Woodland Trust and the Community Forest Trust and is expected to cost £500 million in total.

Theresa May told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show: “It’s going to take time to plant the millions of trees that will be needed in order to develop this national forest, so it’s not a short term thing that’s going to happen, but the commitment is there.”

The plans, which will see 62,000 acres of woodland planted before 2050, is expected to generate £2 billion for the economy through tourism, and by boosting rural business and generating jobs.

It is also likely to increase property values and reduce the economic impact of flooding.

The Northern Forest forms part of the Government’s long-awaited 25-year environment plan.

It is hoped Whitehall funding to kick-start planting will encourage private landowners to also sign up to the project.