A new forest planned to be the largest natural woodland in Britain will act as a haven for oak trees, which are facing a serious threat from diseases.

The Woodland Trust, with the support of The Sunday Times, plans to plant 600,000 trees, creating 850 acres of woodland in Sandridge, near St Albans in Hertfordshire. The forest will help to alleviate the threat to oaks by providing an area free from pollution, pruning and pressure on the trees’ roots, all of which are common problems for oak trees.

Sunday Times readers have already pledged 1,053 trees to the campaign, donating £15,795, and the newspaper has also donated 100 trees.

Oak trees in Britain are threatened by a number of diseases including Phytophthora ramorum, known as “sudden oak death”, which has been found at 625 sites in England and Wales. In July Lord Rooker, the farming minister, launched a consultation about how to tackle Phytophthora amid fears that it could spread like Dutch elm disease, which killed 25m trees over 30 years from the late 1960s.

Ted Green, one of the founders of the Ancient Tree Forum, said: “There does appear to be a life-threatening rise in these diseases as a whole.”

The forest, and a section within it to be known as The Sunday Times Wood, may prove a haven from pressures elsewhere. “It will make the trees much healthier and more robust to resist diseases,” said Fran Hitchinson, conservation officer at the Woodland Trust.

The woodland could also help to revive the black poplar. Unlike most trees, black poplars need a male and female tree to reproduce and few female trees exist in Britain. Planting male and female poplars side-by-side could rejuvenate the species.

The trust is also open to other ideas. “We welcome readers’ suggestions of native trees to consider for the Sunday Times Wood at Sandridge,” said Paul Hetherington, head of public relations at the trust.

E-mail your suggestions to: woodland@sunday-times.co.uk.

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