Plans to create a "Great Northumberland Forest" have been criticised by councillors for a lack of focus on climate change.
Members of Northumberland County Council's Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee were given a presentation by Mark Childs, the forest's programme director. It detailed plans to plant millions more trees across Northumberland in the coming years.
The Defra-funded project will see trees of various types planted in locations up and down the county. It's part of a bid to tackle climate change and create a thriving timber industry.
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The first phase, announced in Autumn 2019 and officially launched in November, will see three new forests created by 2024, covering a 500 hectares. Councillors were told that landowners and farmers would be supported to create and expand woodland.
The presentation was requested as councillors on the committee felt they were not well-enough informed about the forest. Liberal Democrat leader Coun Jeff Reid was unconvinced by the plans.
He said: "I don't know why we've called it the Great Northumberland Forest when it isn't. All of us have in our minds a forest which is a vast unbroken collection of trees.
"What I'm seeing is it is going to be lots here there and everywhere. This is about the Forestry Commission growing more trees.
"I thought this was about climate change. I didn't think we would be talking about the Forestry Commission buying land, planting trees there and harvesting them in 20 years. I thought it was going to be a massive piece of land with native broad leaf trees and it was just going to be left.
"If we're close to the point of no return, we have to start thinking about what is best for the planet rather than what is best for the economy. We shouldn't be driven by money any more."
Mr Childs explained that a combination of both goals was necessary for the forest. He said: "The Great Northumberland Forest isn't one new big forest, it is a vision, or a plan, to see more woodlands and trees on the landscape.
"You can have the best of both worlds, you can create habitats and product a product and the income which can be reinvested into that woodland. They have multiple benefits."
Wooler councillor Mark Mather also raised concerns about the impact on farming jobs, if agricultural land was scarified to make way for more woodland. He said: "The council has had to set away a future farming review.
"The statement saying you are going to grow the economic area - how have you come to that? Has it been worked out that the loss of agricultural jobs will be more than covered by the economic value of timber?"
Mr Childs explained that the two were intended to work alongside, by Coun Mather said he remained concerned. As the meeting's chairman, Coun Reid thanked Mr Childs for his presentation and said the committee was looking forward to future updates.
