We’re promised one big Northern Forest – and it’s one great big diversion | Patrick Barkham

When the government is building HS2 and allowing shale gas exploration in Sherwood Forest, one suspects this new idea is designed to distract attention“A culture is no better than its woods,” wrote WH Auden. “Tree planting is not synonymous with conservation,” argued revered ecologist Oliver Rackham. “It is an admission that conservation has failed.” Such wisdom suggests that the announcement by Theresa May of a new Northern Forest shadowing the M62 from Hull