The Forest of Marston Vale Trust
The vision to create the Forest of Marston Vale, an area of 61 square miles between Bedford and Milton Keynes, was founded by a partnership between local authorities, local industry and national Government agencies. This 40-year shared vision of ‘environmentally-led’ regeneration was set out in the inaugural Forest Plan published in 1995. At this point, tree cover was just 3% – only a third of the national average and amongst the lowest in the country at that time – and the area’s environment was in urgent need of regeneration.
In 1998 the founding partnership created the Forest of Marston Vale Trust, a new and independent charity, to drive forward and lead on the creation of the Forest on their behalf. Since then, the Trust has accelerated the growth of the Forest of Marston Vale, whilst growing itself to become a thriving model of social enterprise.
Fast forward 20 years and you find a vibrant landscape, transformed through the planting of over a million trees; a landscape far richer in wildlife, with many more opportunities for local communities and visitors to explore it. At the heart of the Forest is the multi-award winning Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park, a model of self-financing greenspace and part of a growing leisure economy in the region.
The vision for creating the Forest of Marston Vale remains as clear and as relevant today as it was when it was established. The target remains to increase tree cover to 30%, requiring the planting of around 5 million more trees to achieve the desired 20 square miles of woodland across the landscape by 2031. All with the goal of regenerating the area; creating a better quality natural environment for the tens of thousands of people living, working in and visiting the Forest.
